Blue Eyes
by Elizabeth.June
Summary: Belle saw a portrait in the West Wing, but was distracted by the light of the rose. What if she wasn't? What if she saw the entire picture? Please R&R! Rated T to be on the safe side for later chapters
1. Chapter 1

Blue Eyes

**A/N: So this is my first Beauty and the Beast fanfic… I hope you like it! Reviews would be very nice ;)**

**Summary: Basically, this is about the portrait Belle sees in the West Wing. Since she was distracted by the light the rose gave off, she never got to put together the picture of the prince. So, what if Belle hadn't gotten distracted? What if she had put the portrait back together and saw the full face of the prince? Would she find out about the curse and set the castle free earlier than expected?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just my slightly worn out DVD of Beauty and the Beast.**

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><p>Belle felt a strong sense of accomplishment as she heard Cogsworth and Luimere continue the tour as if she were still there. Of course she would've loved to visit what she knew must be a magnificent library, but the intrigue and mysterious nature of the West Wing was just too much to pass up.<p>

She tip-toed up the red carpeted stairways that seemed to go on forever, her feet not making a sound; when she reached the top, she gasped at what she saw.

The magic and wonder of the castle morphed into something utterly frightening. The rich red and gold of the staircase darkened to bleak blacks and grays. Gargoyles appeared on either side of the long hallway, looming down at her as Belle's eyes widened in terror. What had once been beautiful tapestries hung limp and torn from the walls. Dozens of broken mirrors hung everywhere, glass littering at her feet. At the end of the narrow hallway, a single candelabrum was eerily lit beside a massive wooden door. Belle curiously wandered over to the door, and saw something that scared her most of all.

An ordinate golden carving of a beast's head took the place of a doorknob. It seemed to snarl up at her as she covered her mouth in a strange sense of awe.

Curiosity overruled her better judgment and Belle took hold of the golden beast's horns and gave a sharp pull. To her surprise, the large door opened easily. A stream of light from the open door shown over impossibly dirty carpet of the room inside, wrecked furniture and paintings were strewn about as far as the eye could see. Belle slowly walked into the room, her desire to know more fueled every step she took.

Maroon curtains hung in tatters from the ceiling, and the remains of a bed were carelessly pushed aside as if it wasn't used any more. Belle passed a broken dresser, the drawers split in half and half hanging out onto the floor. Caught up in her mysterious surroundings, Belle's leg bumped into a small table. The small touch made her jump, nearly knocking it over, but she caught it just in time to keep from making a noise.

Belle made her way over to the wrecked bed. It had collapsed in on itself, the canopy drooping down and puncturing the mattress. The bed might have been suitable for a king in its better days; Belle could barely distinguish the elaborate carvings in the head and footboards and on the bed posts supporting the canopy. Angels and roses were delicately carved into the mahogany wood, along with fine details that must have cost fortunes.

She continued to observe the room around her, seeing the ruins of what might have been a room fit for royalty; however, it was too destroyed to tell. Then, Belle turned around and saw something she had not expected to see. A portrait still hung erect on a nearby wall, even though its picture was distorted. Animal claws had ripped through the face of a handsome prince that sat proudly, posed for the portrait. Belle stared in wonder at the shreds of the handsome man's face, tucking a stray piece of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear. She moved hesitantly towards the portrait, unsure of what had possessed her to do so.

From somewhere in the corner of the room, a bright pink light splashed color onto the young woman's face, but she didn't pay any attention to it; she was too transfixed by the bright blue eyes she saw softly staring back at her from the picture frame.

Now, she stood directly in front of him. Even though his picture was torn to shreds, she couldn't help but notice his beauty. Yes, he was beautiful; his pale complexion bathed in pink light shining from somewhere over in the corner. Belle carefully took the largest piece of shorn canvas in her small hand and warily held it up to its proper place. With her other hand, she smoothed out the other two ripped edges of the man's face to their original state.

The man's face was so familiar, but Belle couldn't exactly place where she had seen it before. Then again, it wasn't his face she recognized; it was his distinct features.

His hair was an attractive red-brown color. It was wavy as it hung loose past his wide, strong shoulders. Belle knew that color…

The feature that stood out to Belle the most was his eyes. The bright blue eyes were something she had definitely seen before. But somehow they looked different, kind and gentle; somehow Belle had expected them to be fierce and full of anger and hatred. Belle removed her hand from the piece she held up making his mouth and stroked the cheek of the man in the painting. Her hand moved upwards to his oh-so-familiar eyes and she rubbed her thumb over them. Immediately, she knew where she had seen them before. The thought was absolutely absurd, she feared she was losing her mind when she thought of it, but there was no mistaking it now. She knew what she saw; what she had seen were the Beast's eyes staring back at her.

A single tear sprang forth from her right eye as she continued to look upon the Beast's eyes on a man's face. She was right, she knew it; Belle had recognized the man's hair as the fur coat of the Beast. Although, the Beast's fur was much more matted and tangled, it was definitely the same.

Belle's thoughts were interrupted by a low moan coming from the corner of the room. She quickly turned around, seeing the Beast himself standing watch over the pink light, as if his life depended on it. Her heart sank as she saw the look of utter misery on the Beast's face; despite how awful he had treated her, no one deserved to be in such pain.

She proceeded with caution to where the Beast sat on his back hunches. Her eyes welled up with tears as she heard the Beast let out a strange heart-broken cry. He sounded almost... human.

Belle stood still beside the huge body of the Beast. Together, they watched as a petal gracefully detached from a glowing rose inside an ordinate glass vase. His cry then became more of a sob as the red petal touched the table below.

The two stood there for a moment, side by side, the Beauty and the Beast.

Then, the Beast spoke, "Why did you come here?" His voice, while still holding that animal-like growl, was surprisingly gentle. It wasn't an accusation, or a reprimand, only a question, like he really wanted to know.

Belle stood there in shocked silence; she had expected him to be furious. When she did not answer his question, he continued.

"I told you never to come here."

Yes, Belle remembered him saying so. He had told her that she may go anywhere she liked in the castle, except the West Wing. It was forbidden.

Neither one said a word, almost as if they were scared to break the silence. The Beast continued to look at the rose, never taking his eyes of it. It was like it was the center of his world.

Belle timidly spoke after a while, "I'm sorry."

The Beast did not reply, nor did he show any sign that he had heard her. She looked at him carefully and he seemed to almost collapse under her gaze. He finally looked down at her, "This is wrong," he mumbled.

"What?" Belle questioned, her brow furrowing at such a random comment.

The Beast squeezed his eyes shut in what looked like pain.

"I release you," He said, looking back at the rose. It was like he was speaking to it, not her. "You are no longer my prisoner."

"What?" Belle asked again, "But why?"

"I should have never kept you here. It was a mistake from the beginning; it was selfish and spoiled. I don't deserve your company."

Belle stood there, too stunned to say a word. Her mouth hung open, rather impolitely, and she felt tears tickle down her cheeks much faster than before. They fell at a steady pace and Belle tried to wiped them away with the sleeve of her dress.

"Go," the Beast ordered, his voice rougher than usual.

Belle did as she was told and ran towards the door. Before she disappeared, she felt her lips form three simple words. She didn't know why she said them, or if she really felt that way.

"I love you," she whispered, barely audible, but the Beast still heard. He turned around so quickly he almost knocked over the table with the rose. His eyes widened and mouth dropped as he couldn't believe what she had said.

However, the Beast was too late, and Belle was gone.

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><p><strong>AN: Do you like it? Review if you want more :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Blue Eyes

**A/N: A huge thank you to my reviewers Fanficlover555, Clara Spencer, and BonyBraeburn! Because of your reviews, this chapter exists!**

**Now, on with the story!**

The Beast galloped towards the balcony and clenched the cold marble, arching his back as he let out a horrific roar. Human tears streamed down his animal face as he collapsed in a heap on the frigid floor.

Just then, Cogsworth, his faithful servant, hurriedly rushed onto the balcony as fast as his short legs could carry him. The Beast had not heard him enter the West Wing, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Cogsworth anxiously hovered over his master's body, his clock-like face filled with terror.

"Y-Your G-Grace," he stammered. "It's B-Belle! She's g-gone!"

The Beast looked up from his position on the ground with tear filled blue eyes.

"I let her go." His voice sounded more human than ever before.

The clock-servant looked at the Beast, utterly stupefied from his response.

"You did what, your majesty?"

"I let her go. I do not deserve her." The Beast was absolutely sure of his words. "_Spoiled and Selfish_," the Enchantress had said, and that was exactly what he was. The Beast could see that now; he would never deserve such a wonderful, loving, caring spirit such as Belle. She was beautiful, inside and out; he was a monster.

The two stood there in silence, the Beast looked away from his servant through the gaps between the balcony's railings. He saw Belle riding her horse off the castle grounds into the dark and snowy forest. He saw her pale face look back once before she disappeared forever. The Beast let out a miserable moan.

Cogsworth had apparently seen Belle's departure as well, as he let out a low whisper of, "Oh, no."

The Beast could not find the strength in his massive body to move his head to face the clock again. Instead he mumbled a quiet, "What?"

The clock scurried around to come face to face with his master. His face was grave as he expressed his worries, "Master, the wolves. The Enchantress made them impossible to escape…"

Adrenaline coursed through the Beast's veins like fire. Immediately, he found the strength to gallop on all fours off the balcony and down the roof. He couldn't waste any time; Belle's life was at stake.

Beast could remember when the Enchantress first placed the curse upon the castle, that night ten years ago. The terrible memory was forever burned into his mind, mainly because of the pain of the transformation. However, he could recall other events of that first night ten years previous. He clearly remembered hunching over, in his new beastly form, over the balcony outside the West Wing. He had seen his magnificent castle transform right along with him; the delicate angels becoming grotesque gargoyles before his very eyes, the polished white marble and gold lining becoming bleak gray and black stone. His forest, filled with an abundance of friendly wildlife including rabbits and squirrels, morphing into a thick maze of thorns protected by the rabid wolves the Enchantress had placed there. Not only did the Beast have to find love, the Enchantress made it far more difficult for anyone to travel through the woods to the castle safely.

So, as the Beast ran across the stone bridge and through the castle gates, he pushed his legs to go as fast as possible. He had to reach Belle in time, he could not lose her; not now, not ever. He galloped even faster, cutting through the trees following Belle's scent he could smell through his animal nose. He felt the enchanted mirror stabbing into his side with every step he took, but he couldn't begin to care, not when Belle's life was on the line.

Snow was falling quick and fast through bare trees above. Huge snowflakes melted on the Beast's fur, soaking it in a matter of minutes, but his large size of his body kept him warm.

As he continued to run, he thought about Belle. Her exquisite face danced before his eyes; her thick lashes framed her round expressive chocolate eyes, her blush spread across her cheeks as she got angry, her lips spread over a wide smile as she watched the ostentatious dinner show previously that night. Yes, the Beast had been watching from above, and he didn't mind this time that she had disobeyed his order to stay in her room. Her smile warmed the Beast's heart, made his heart beat faster and warmth spread to the skin under matted fur. He was proud of Lumiere, he was a wonderful servant. The Beast was beginning to see past the fact that they all had disobeyed him; he only cared that they had brought that smile to Belle's face.

Lumiere had always been the entertainer of the household. He frequently arranged surprise shows for the residents of the castle, always wanting to arouse an applause, craving attention, but most importantly hoping to warm the hearts of those cursed by the spell. The Beast was glad his shows came to some use.

The snow fell harder and the Beast could only hope he would reach Belle in time. He ran on all fours, his claws leaving deep footprints in the white powder. Tears sprung forth to his eyes as the frosty wind whipped past his eyes that he had to force open through what was quickly becoming a blizzard. He couldn't stop though, he had to save Belle.

He thought of her last words as she left; those three magical words he had to repeat to her if he was ever to break the spell.

_I love __you_. She loved him!

But did she really? Had she only said that out of sympathy?

She had seen him at his lowest, bowing down to the power of the rose. The rose controlled every aspect of his life; he had once vowed to commit suicide if he were unable to find requited love by the time the last petal fell. Belle had seen the Beast moping in the West Wing, crouched around his precious rose without having a clue of what it meant. Besides, hadn't the Enchantress said that true love was required to break the spell? Sympathy was hardly true love...

Was there a chance that Belle truly loved him? Was it possible? They hardly knew each other, yet she had said those wonderful words already...

It was there and then that the Beast came to the most ridiculous conclusion: it didn't matter. It didn't matter if Belle didn't truly love him enough to break the spell. It was ridiculous because the two hadn't even known each other for three days. Love couldn't develop that fast, could it? But the Beast knew how he felt. He felt something very different than anything he had experienced before; he knew he would do anything for Belle. He couldn't quite understand it, but it was there. He would be anything for her, man or Beast. Of course, it would be simpler for him to be a human man. Maybe he might have a chance at winning Belle's affections if he was attractive. That thought stopped him short, he couldn't quite remember what he looked like before. After all, he had only been a spoiled child when the curse had been placed upon him and the castle. He briefly wondered what he might look like now, if he were human. Would he be handsome? Handsome enough for Belle? That was all that mattered, that Belle was impressed.

He had to reach Belle to save her, to see her again. Then he would worry about everything else.

The snow covered forest zoomed past him in blurs of green, white, and brown. Before he knew it, the Beast reached a cliff. He heard a scream and his blood ran cold.

There she was.

She held a large tree branch in her hand, trying to wave it threatening over her head. Her horse's reins were stuck on a nearby tree as he kicked at the wolves biting as his feet. He brayed into the air and raised up onto his back hunches.

The Beast roared angrily, the sound cutting into the black night. The wolves looked up, terrified, and ran away hoping to out run the bigger predator. However, Belle looked oddly comforted by the Beast's cries, seeming to recognize the sound. She looked around for the source of the noise, but her eyes failed her. She couldn't see the Beast from where he was, still concealed behind the trees.

Everything was still for a moment. The Beast couldn't believe his luck; it had been too easy to scare off the wolves. He slowly made his way towards the edge where the forest met the rock of the cliff. He kept his eyes on her, blue on brown, as he moved. Before he knew it, the words spilled forth from his lips before she could see him.

"I love you," he whispered, mostly as a confirmation to himself of what he already knew.

The Beast fell face first onto the snow covered forest floor. His world went black.

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><p><strong>AN: There's chapter two! Did you like it? Yes? No? Let me know! Reviews=more chapters!**

**Also, I hope I'm not going too fast with this story. I don't intend for it to be too long, but who knows, I didn't plan to write this story either. I'm writing this out of frustration mainly with my Twilight story, where I just can't seem to get the two characters together at the moment no matter how hard I try. I wanted this to be a quicker love story, but still believable. I hope this story's not too quick, if it is let me know and I'll slow down.**

_***********To Fanficlover555:**__I reply to all my reviews because I think that if you took the time to write your opinions down for me, then I should take time to thank you. So, I guess this is the way to do it for anonymous reviewers. Anyways, thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad you enjoy my story! I hope I don't disappoint you :) Yes, I do plan on continuing this as long as I get some feedback, so keep telling me what you think! I love to hear from my readers!_

**-Elizabeth :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Blue Eyes

**A/N: Much love to my wonderful reviewers Fanficlover555, Clara Spencer, BronyBraeburn, Yovilleluva, civilwarrose, Nami Swannn, Groovy Geek, Obsessive360, and The Green Archer! Words can't express how awesome you all are! **

**Here's the new chapter just for you!**

The Beast woke lying on his back in the deep snow. He could feel the remnants of something wonderfully warm creeping into his heart from his fingertips. As the warmth left completely, he was much colder than he remembered ever being as his soaking cape wrapped around his body. His tattered navy pants were equally wet, making him shiver violently. He couldn't recall his propose here, all alone in the middle of the snowy forest. He looked around, still lying on his back, and noticed the woods had changed drastically from the gloomy darkness he had come to know over the last ten years. The tall trees weren't as foreboding as before, the eerie fog had dissipated and bright sunlight streamed through the canopy. Birds chirped happily from above, and the water of a stream trickled nearby. It was peaceful… Was he even in the same forest as before?

Then, the Beast turned his head to where his right cheek lay on the freezing snow. There, just through the trees, he could see a small figure lying limp on the ground; a woman. Her blue and white dress wrapped around her knees as if she had fallen over, her dark traveling cloak covered all of her except her face and hair. The beautiful mahogany locks spilled loose past her bosom, brown waves that seemed to go on forever. He then looked at her face and his heart almost stopped at the sight.

Her pale cheeks held a faint blush and her rosy lips were opened in a soft pout. Even though her eyelids were shut peacefully, the Beast knew what color they were. They were the hypnotizing brown he had come to know and love. Belle.

Her horse, Philippe he remembered her calling him, was anxiously waiting by her side. He nudged her face, but the expression didn't change as it fell lifeless to the ground.

The Beast was terrified, immediately scrambling up to his legs when he noticed something rather odd.

His legs were much smaller and obviously weaker as they could not support him and he immediately fell back to the ground. Frustrated and trying to get to Belle as soon as possible, he tried again ending with the same result. He sat there in the snow, trembling, and looked down at his body, gasping at what he saw.

The body he saw himself currently residing in was unmistakably human. Shocked, he looked at his skin-covered hands and observed both sides. He grabbed at the long hair that spilled onto his shoulders, the only excessive amount of hair on his body. His human legs were no longer that of an animal's, but the peachy color of the prince he had once been. He felt his face, his nose was small and thin, horns gone, lips absent of fangs. He felt a smile develop there, slowly revealing perfect straight teeth of normal size.

"Belle! BELLE!" He shouted, forgetting everything at the moment, "Look, Belle! You did it! _We_ did it!"

But as the newly restored prince looked back at Belle, he was reminded of the cold, harsh reality of the present time. Belle lay limp in the snow.

He ran as fast as he could to her albeit rather awkwardly. He kept tripping over his own feet, not used to the light weight of his new body. Eventually, he made it to her. He knelt down beside her still form and felt tears prickle his eyes.

"No," he croaked, his voice tight with emotion, "no, Belle. You can't... You can't do this to me! To us! NO!" He stroked her face, hoping and praying that she would wake soon. When she didn't, he gathered her into his arms. However, he was still extremely weak from his transformation, so it took more effort to stand with her in his arms than it would've if he was still the Beast, but he wasn't complaining. Strange as it sounded, he enjoyed his weakness for everything it was worth.

Philippe stood immediately without command and turned his side towards the strange man he did not know. It looked like the man wanted to help his mistress, so he did not fight him. Without hesitation, the former Beast carefully placed Belle atop the saddle and led her horse back to the castle, feeling tears streaming down his human cheeks the entire way.

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><p>It seemed like an eternity before they reached the castle, to the prince at least. He never let go of Belle's hand throughout the entire journey. In time they made it to the castle gates and, like the Beast, it too had transformed.<p>

The bleak grays and blacks of the castle's stone walls had melted away, revealing the breathtaking white marble beneath. Gargoyles and the wrought-iron gates had transformed into gorgeous angels and gold and silver plated metals. The overall effect was stunning, leaving the castle looking nothing like its previous state. The prince would not have recognized his own castle had he not seen it in its former glory before. However, he could not waste time when Belle's life was at stake.

The prince and Philippe made their way to the castle's gargantuan front doors, knocking with a handle that no longer resembled the Beast's head.

After a moment, the door creaked open to reveal a rather stout man, balding, but had a rather large mustache that looked very much like clock hands.

The man seemed a bit nervous, not meeting the prince's eye. The clock-like man cleared his throat before speaking.

"I'm sorry, sir, but the master of this castle is not in at the moment. He had the most urgent matter to attend to..."

"Cogsworth!" The former Beast shouted with glee, happy to see one of his most trusted servants completely restored to his human form as well. The prince immediately grabbed the short, plump man into an immense hug under which the latter tensed from the unfamiliar gesture. Then, as the prince let go, Cogsworth looked into the other man's eyes, seeing the blue that belonged to the Beast.

"Y-Your grace! I-It's you! How marvelous!" The servant responded, happy than the prince had ever seen him. "Then, I'm to assume all went well? You found Belle?"

At this, the expression on the younger man's face plummeted to one of severe worry and heartache. The prince simply grabbed hold of Philippe's reins and guided him to stand beside him on the castle threshold.

Cogsworth saw the body and gasped in horror. "Mrs. Potts! Come quick! HURRY!"

A sweet older woman appeared, apparently not far away when Cogsworth had called her.

"Whatever is the matter?"

She took in the prince and Belle in a single glance and gasped like Cogsworth had, daintily covering her mouth.

"Oh my goodness!" She said, her eyes filled with worry. "Adam, please bring her up to her bedroom. I'll get the doctor." She scurried away without a backwards glance. The prince didn't even think about being called his old name as he gently gathered Belle into his arms, careful not to let any part of her touch the ground. He held her close to his chest as he silently made his way up the grande staircase to the first level where Belle's room was located. Once inside the pink and blue room, he laid her on the massive king-sized bed. The size of the bed made her look so tiny and the prince could not bear to tear his eyes off her. He held her petite hand, taking immense pleasure from the wonderful skin-on-skin contact, but while he stared down at her pale complexion he almost dissolved into sobs once again, too overcome from fear that Belle was injured, or worse... He couldn't even think about the second option if he wanted to remain even an ounce of composure.

From behind him, he heard footsteps on the laminate flooring. Her turned around just as a skinny gray-haired man appeared; he vaguely was reminded of the black leather doctor's bag he was sure this man had been before the curse was lifted.

The man bowed slightly to the prince before moving to treat Belle as fast as he could. Although the prince did not want to, he quietly moved away from Belle and went to stand beside Mrs. Potts, giving the doctor space to work. He watched as the thin man worked diligently over his love with instruments the prince did not entirely understand. Before long the doctor turned around, his face with a small smile on his face; he removed a strange device from his ears and looked hopefully at the other inhabitants of the room.

"She will be fine, only needs some warm blankets and sleep. I suspect she'll wake by nightfall." The prince let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, as did Mrs. Potts.

As the old man turned to leave, the young prince caught his arm.

"But... What caused this?" His voice was quiet, the doctor almost didn't hear him. The doctor cleared his throat.

"Stress, possibly. The cold overnight didn't help anything, either. Like I said, I recommend lots of warm blankets and sleep. Goodnight, sir."

The former Beast nodded and whispered a grateful 'thank you.' This stopped the doctor short for a second, as if he was not prepared for such manners from the person that used to be the ill-tempered Beast. He soon recovered though, and continued his way out the door.

The prince did not waste a single second, instantly returning to Belle's bedside. As he stared into her face, everything else ceased to exist. She was his world. He realized his love and a wide smile spread unbidden to his face. How could something so wonderful happen to him, in the midst of the lowest point in his existence? She was wonderful, marvelous, but those words still were not enough. He had a feeling that nothing he did for her would ever be enough for what she did for him; she had freed him. Glancing at his hand caressing her face, the prince still was stupefied at the sight of seeing a human hand covered with real skin attached to the end of his arm. And it was all because of her, because of love.

The prince frowned. Love.

He thought back to when he was the Beast running through the forest to save Belle's life. He had contemplated the true meaning of her words she had whispered before she left the West Wing. She said she loved him, but did she really truly love him like he did her? Was just saying meaningless words enough to break the spell?

Now, as the prince looked at the new human hand that was by some miracle his, he saw something different. Before, he had seen it as a confirmation of her love for him, but now he wasn't so sure. It could've been just empty words.

The prince was mildly distracted as he heard the click of high heeled shoes enter the room. Mrs. Potts shuffled past him, arms full of heavy blankets and new clothes. He moved away from Belle, still gawking at his hands; he heard Mrs. Potts' voice ask him to leave for a moment while she dressed Belle in something warm and dry. He felt himself nod, not even looking up and went to stand outside her room. His feet gave out and he slowly slid down to the floor, his back against the wall. The prince grabbed at his too-long hair that matched the exact shad of the Beast's fur in contemplation. He was human now, and he could do so much more than he could before.

Belle might not have truly loved the Beast, but he was a handsome prince now; surely he could win her affections this way.

He set his jaw, knowing how difficult it would be, but the plan was perfect as soon as it popped into his head. The prince's face lit up in a fantastic smile, thinking of all the possibilities of where this decision would take him.

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><p><strong>AN: So there you go! I hope you liked it! Remember, reviews = more chapters!**

**Also, I'm working on replying to all your reviews so please bear with me here :)**

_Fanficlover555: Thanks for your continuous reviews :) They put a huge smile on my face when I read them! I'm glad you like the Beast POV, especially since I'm not to experienced with writing in third person. I'm used to using first person, but I'm giving this a try along with my start in the Beauty and the Beast category. Thanks again :)_

**-Elizabeth :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Blue Eyes

The prince continued to watch Belle, his eyes never once leaving her pale face. Even though the doctor had said she would be fine, he couldn't believe it… She was just too still.

A frown had been permanently been etched onto his forehead; he was worried about her, to say the least. He wanted her to wake up, show him herself that she would, in fact, be fine.

However, she continued to sleep soundlessly. Every once in a while, an eyebrow would twitch or her hand would grasp his a little tighter in her deep slumber, but nothing more. The prince could practically feel himself bounce on the bed with anxiety.

All of a sudden, he heard the giant door to Belle's room creak open. Mrs. Potts quietly entered the room, her arms full of towels, blankets, and a large bowl of steaming water. She sat the large china bowl on the wooden nightstand that no longer moved the blankets and towels still in her arms.

"Here we are," she said in a cheerful whisper, careful not to wake the sleeping girl on the bed. As the maid started to unfold the blankets, the prince stopped her. It was time he started his plan.

Mrs. Potts raised her eyebrows at the young man, "Yes, Adam?" she asked.

This time the prince acknowledged his name. His eyes widened at her as he realized he hadn't been called that name in ten years. Mrs. Potts chuckled.

"That is your name, whether you remember it or not," she said, smiling.

"I do," Adam replied. "It's just been a while, that's all."

Just as Mrs. Potts began to unfold the blankets again, the prince stopped her again.

"Wait," he said quietly, not entirely sure what would be the best way to tell Mrs. Potts about his decision; it certainly was an outrageous idea. "Is... Is there any way we could move her to another room she hasn't seen before?" Adam asked hesitantly, his voice shaking. This was it, this decision would change everything.

Mrs. Potts frowned, "Why would you want to do that?" She asked, completely confused. "The rest of the castle looks so different now... She won't be able to recognize it. I think this is the only room that hasn't changed, it and the ballroom; isn't it best to keep her here, in familiar surroundings? She's bound to be frightened enough as it is. She us all so different doesn't help the matter either..."

"Exactly," the prince said with a little more confidence.

The maid became all the more confused at the master's statement.

"You don't want her to recognize the castle?"

"No."

All was quiet for an immeasurable moment. The former Beast resulted to softly stroking Belle's face again, enamored by her beauty and kindness that showed even in sleep. She sighed softly and unconsciously relaxed into his hand. He smiled, this was what he was doing this for. As a prince, he might actually have a chance...

He felt Mrs. Potts lay a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You know," she said, "The spell wouldn't have been broken if she didn't love you too."

The prince shook his head, "It's not the same. The Enchantress never said what kind of love I needed to break the spell. Belle never loved me this way, the way I love her. She was merely expressing her gratitude and sympathy."

Mrs. Potts sighed and shook her head at his stubbornness. "I don't think that's the case."

He ignored her, asking a simple " Will you prepare the room beside the West Wing? It's closer to the library, I think she'll like that."

The servant shook her head once more and chuckled silently to herself before she hurried out the door. Belle was a smart girl, she'd figure it out sooner or later.

Adam stood beside Belle's bed, sliding his hands under her body. He picked her up, cradling her against he body with the utmost reverence. Then, carefully, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and she nuzzled against his bare chest in response. He shivered, whether it was from the ice-cold of her cheek or the pleasure of her touch, he did not know. Though, he knew he was anxiously awaiting the time when she would, hopefully, return his touch consciously.

He made his way through the castle, noticing how different it was indeed. In fact, it looked like a different castle altogether; the grey stone of the floors and pillars had been replaced with sparkling white marble. All broken sculptures had been repaired. The dusty tapestries that had once depicted scenes of horror and anguish now showed famous Greek gods and goddesses in poses of elegance and beauty. Like the outside of his castle, the gargoyles had transformed back into angels and cupids ready to strike the unsuspecting passerby with his arrow of love. _If only... _the prince mused.

When the he reached the West Wing, he gasped in shock. This, by far, was the most different. It no longer looked like the home of a Beast, but now had been repaired to the former glory of his childhood. Large gleaming mirrors gleamed pristine and unbroken, framed in golds and silvers. Inanimate suits of armor were fixed into a permanent salute upon jewel encrusted stands. The large door to his own room was a brilliant mahogany with ruby handles that had taken the place of the frightening Beasts.

The prince was careful not to look into any of the mirrors, suddenly afraid of his new reflection; it was one he hadn't seen in ten years. He knew it was a ridiculous idea, but he secretly knew he was terrified of looking into one of those millions of mirrors and seeing the reflection of a Beast again.

So, before he could catch sight of his own reflection, he walked as fast as he could with Belle in his arms towards the room across from his at the entrance to the West Wing.

He entered through the already open door to see Mrs. Potts putting the finishing touches to the room. He looked around, noticing this room was much more grande than Belle's previous one. From the best he could remember, this had been his mother's room.

And it was a room fit for a queen. A massive bed dominated the room, it was positioned in the center of the farthest wall. Its elaborate canopy was made from the finest of white silk money could buy. Ruby and white walls reached upwards to form a high ceiling. The prince chuckled to himself as he half expected the furniture to move and greet him.

Adam went to stand beside the bed as Mrs. Potts unrolled the overly fluffy coverlet and blankets. She fluffed the pillows and he carefully laid Belle down on the bed. When Mrs. Potts tucked her in, he smiled as he saw the design on the blanket.

Though it was the wrong color, he could still sense the irony. Red roses decorated the sheets, intricately weaving through each other in a beautiful design.

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><p>It was now late in the night, and Adam still kept watch over Belle. He had not left her side since he had brought her into the castle. His eyes drooped with exhaustion, he had not yet slept in his new human form; he had to keep watch over Belle, to make sure she would really be alright. However, his body wasn't complying with his wishes as his eyes slowly started to slide close into sleep. Before they could close completely, sending him into a peaceful slumber, he was woken again by a quiet knock at the door. He groggily stood and made his way over to the source of the sound and wiped the sleep from his eyes as he opened the heavy door.<p>

Two men stood there, one was short and stout, with a rather stiff mustache that looked like clock arms. The prince recognized him from before when he first arrived back to the castle with Belle; he was Cogsworth. Then, Adam looked at the second man he hadn't seen in ten years. This man was rather skinny, the exact opposite in fact. His lanky limbs and tall stature reminded of of a candlestick. Adam's eyes widened as he took in other features of this man, the brown curl on top of his head that had one been made of wax and the wide grin that had not changed no matter what form this man was in... He was Lumiere.

"Lumiere!" The prince said excitedly, and hugged his old friend firmly, glad to see that he too was back to his original state.

Lumiere chuckled at the prince's enthusiasm and returned the hug before letting go and holding him out at arms's length to look at his master's new appearance.

"I must say, master, that you look quite a bit different!" Lumiere beamed. The prince was so happy, he could only smile in return. "See, I told you she'd be the one to break the spell!" Lumiere smirked, nudging Cogsworth in his large belly with his skinny arm.

"Yes, well..." Cogsworth said, stuttering a bit. Then he turned toward the prince, deciding to avoid the insuring argument altogether. "Your highness," Cogsworth began, "Wouldn't it be wise to freshen up a bit? I don't mean to insult you, but you look like a mess."

"And," Lumiere grinned wider than ever as he spoke, "Wouldn't it be easier to win the lady's affections if you were... Clean?"

Adam frowned, his mind still in a vague fog of sleepiness. He looked over at Belle's sleeping form; she rolled over on her stomach and hugged the pillow closer to her head. He could not stop the smile that slowly spread across his features as he watched his love. Then, the frown came back just as quickly as it had disappeared. What if she woke without him there? What if something happened to her while he was gone? He would never be able to forgive himself.

Sensing his master's worries, Lumiere added, "If she wakes before you are back, I will come for you immediately."

The prince felt a little comforted by Lumiere's words, but he couldn't help but worry...

"The doctor said she'll be fine, your majesty," Cogsworth reassured him, "But you on the other hand, need to relax or else you won't be."

Adam looked once more in Belle's direction. He longed to be able to hold her while she slept, he wanted to be there for her whenever she needed him. Then Adam realized something that almost made him laugh, and he would have if he hadn't been worried that it would wake Belle from her much needed sleep.

"I suppose you're right," he conceded. "Besides, I don't need to be looming over her when she wakes up. To her, I would just be some strange man watching her sleep. Being there when she wakes probably isn't the best idea."

Both of his servants smiled at the though and nodded in agreement.

"I'll be in my bedroom," he said with a yawn, "Be sure to wake me if anything happens."

"Of course," Lumiere promised.

With that, the prince headed past them out the the door and down the long hallway to his room.

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><p><strong>AN: Hi there again! So, I hope everyone likes this! Send me a review if you want another chapter ;)**

**By the way, sorry if there is any OOCness... My advanced placement history class is doing a study on transcendentalists and Henry David Thoreau and we are going without technology for a week. However, I was allowed to get on fanfiction still because my teacher said we were to spend this week reading and writing, and that's exactly what I'm doing. However, my TV is unplugged and youtube is blocked so I can't go back there for reference. I tried as hard as I could to get the characters right without going back for reference. Hopefully I did okay and I hope you all won't kill me for any OOC that might have occurred. **

**To the wonderful reviewers T a s h ax, BronyBraeburn, collective2220, Fanficlover555, The Green Archer, PrettyQueen, obsessive360, Groovy Geek, Nami Swann, civilwarrose, yovillelova, and Clara Spencer THANK YOU! You all are the reason each chapter exists :)**

_**Anonymous reviewers:**_

_**T a s h ax: Hi there and thanks for your review! I'm so glad you enjoy my story. I'm really trying to make this a fic of quality by adding as much description as I can. Being called 'brilliant' just puts a big cheesy grin on my face. Thanks again :)**_

_**Fanficlover555: Hello again! I really can't thank you enough for all your continuous reviews. Each one encourages me to write some more ;) I hope I don't let you down with each chapter so each review I get I have a little sigh of relief that no one's mad... yet lol. I'm definitely planning on continuing as long as I keep getting positive responses from my readers. I'm also glad that I gave you a little scare; I was hoping people would get a little panicky over Belle's condition, but wasn't quite sure if I wrote it right. Anyways, thank you so much for your review! :D**_

_****_**-Elizabeth**


	5. Chapter 5

Blue Eyes

The prince slowly made his way to his room, his feet practically dragging with exhaustion. He didn't try to rub the sleep from his eyes as he stumbled his way through the large door into the West Wing; every once in a while he would begin to trip before he stopped himself and quickly regained his balance. The former Beast wasn't accustomed to this new light-weight form.

He scooted his feet across the red velvet carpet, not bothering to look up at what he was sure was another dramatically changed room. Instead, he quickly headed for the large bathroom adjacent to the master bedroom, avoiding any and all mirrors in his path. He wasn't sure what he would meet in the mirror, but he knew it would be something completely foreign and he wasn't entirely ready to see someone different in the mirror than who he'd seen for the past ten years. In fact, the face he would see would be different from any reflection he had ever seen staring back at him because when the curse had been placed upon the castle he had only been about eleven years old. Any human face that would look back at him would surely be different from the boyish face he remembered from so long ago.

Taking off the entirely too big breeches and cape, he stepped into the already filled bathtub for a nice long soak. The prince could feel each muscle relax under the warmth and he rested his head back on the gold siding. Closing his eyes, he began to ruminate on everything that had happened that day. He remembered letting Belle go, declaring her freedom while it cost him everything in return. However, now that he thought about it, he hadn't lost anything at all. He opened his eyes, staring down at his body. The prince couldn't help the slow, tired smile that spread across his lips; they had done it. He, of course, loved Belle with every fiber of his being. He shook his head as he continued to look down at his human hands, twisting them so he could see every inch of skin that now coated them; this was the most insane, most ludicrous thing that could have happened. He had never really believed he would love someone the way he loved Belle. Sure, he had imagined it many a time, but he never thought he could actually do it.

The prince continued to look at his bare skin, amazed but also afraid that if he took his eyes off of it, it would turn back into the matted fur of the Beast.

He continued to think, remembering how Cogsworth had come and warned him of the dangers of the woods the Beast had forgotten about. The prince could feel his heart thumping loudly in his chest as he recalled the terror he had experienced as he raced after Belle. The terror melted away as he remembered what happened next; the decision that changed his life. He realized that he was in love with Belle. The ridiculous smile came back and the prince laid his head back against the gold siding of the bathtub. Everything was going to be much simpler now that he and Belle were at least the same species.

But how was he going to do it? He could hardly become the arrogant prince that had gotten him into this mess; no, he had to be a gentleman. He must be careful to not remind Belle of the Beast in any way, or else this wouldn't work.

And what of his servants? They so closely resembled their previous state of being that Belle would surely figure it out. She was brilliant; of course she would figure it out and probably sooner rather than later. As much as it pained the prince to even think it, he knew the only logical conclusion. The servants couldn't see Belle.

He knew this wouldn't be easy. In fact, the hardest part would be telling the servants about his plan. He had already told Mrs. Potts the general idea, but he never even hinted at the fact they would be cut off from Belle until long in the future, if they even got to see her at all. This would be extremely difficult; the prince knew his servants would be far from happy about his plan. He knew they would insist on seeing her at once, but it just wouldn't do; not if he wanted this plan to work. Maybe, if all went according to plan, they could see her again someday. It would have to be far in the future so Belle couldn't recognize them, and in turn, recognize him as the terrible Beast that had imprisoned her not even a week ago.

The prince continued to go over the day's events in his head. The one thing he could not recall, no matter how hard he tried, was his transformation.

He remembered admitting his feelings to himself, then everything going black. When he woke, he was human again.

So could it really have happened? Or was it some insane daydream his mind had conjured?

Sure, he had seen his human body, looking down at himself, but he had yet to actually see himself in the mirror. He hadn't the faintest idea of what he would look like now.

There was only one way to find out.

The prince stepped out of the bathtub, all the dirt and grime of the past ten years left behind. He dried himself off with a towel, wrapping it around his hips. Then, he slowly made his way to the full length mirror at the far end of the room; he kept his eyes carefully directed at the floor.

He stood there for a moment that seemed to last eternity. He took a deep breath and drew up the courage to look into the mirror.

There was a stranger looking back at him. A human stranger that somewhat resembled the boy the prince had once seen there. Above this strange man, on the silver framework in an intricate design a Beast's head was sculpted into a vicious roar. Ironically enough, the Beast's silver head with ruby eyes was alongside another figure. An angel's face, Cupid, was intricately carved beside the Beast in the most bizarre pattern the prince had ever seen. It was no doubt the Enchantress's idea when she returned the castle to its original state.

The prince looked past the framework of the mirror to the young man standing before him. He narrowed his eyes to get a better look, and the man in the mirror did too. The man, the prince's reflection, was extremely handsome. His lean muscles on his arms, chest, and stomach were far different from the fur covered limbs he had been used to. Actually, there was only a minimal amount of hair on his body now, the brown and red mixture that was far too long spilling down his back. It was identical to the shade of the Beast's fur and the prince could only hope that Belle wouldn't notice. That being said, he would need it cut soon before he saw Belle again. He had to impress her.

The only resemblance his face held to the Beast was his blue eyes, those had not changed. From child, to Beast, to man his eyes had always remained the shocking vibrant blue that he had inherited from his late mother. They were the only connection he had ever had to her, she had died in childbirth.

The rest of his features greatly resembled those of his father. Looking upon his own face in the mirror, he saw the strong chin (which was covered with quite a bit of stubble, enough to almost consider it a beard), thick eyebrows, and straight nose that he remembered on the face of the king so many years ago. He looked so much like his own father that he supposed he could pass for the long dead king back from the grave if he wanted to.

Before he took any personal pleasure from his new appearance, he first hoped his new looks would please Belle. He could only pray she would be attracted to the new version of him.

That got the prince thinking, he looked at his hair on both his head and jaw again. He looked like a wild man after ten long years as a Beast. When Belle awoke, he needed to look decent at the very least. A knock on the door distracted the prince from his thoughts. He quickly dressed in the loose shirt and breeches laid out for him on the silver and marble table beside the mirror and went to open the door.

An extremely tall, skinny man that looked to be no older than thirty looked up that the prince.

"Your highness," He said, stooping slightly in a sort of bow. "I was wondering if you needed anything. You've been in there for quite a long time."

The prince looked at the man carefully, trying to decide which of his servants he was. His round face on his skinny neck and his short arms didn't remind the former Beast of anyone.

Lumiere stepped out from behind the man. The prince slightly jumped as he hadn't seen his friend before.

"Master, Jean was merely suggesting he might be able to… help you look more… presentable?"

The prince nodded, mostly to himself, looking at the taller man again. As he took his master's nod as a confirmation of his services, he began to search in a small black bag and pulled out several devices, such as a comb, scissors, brush, and a razor. The prince's eyes widened as he recognized the man now; he had previously been the castle's barber transformed into a coat hanger.

Lumiere led the prince to an ordinate green and brown chair in front of a matching large mirror. This mirror, to the prince's pleasant surprise did not have an ominous Beast with glowing ruby eyes gazing down upon him.

The former coat hanger draped a large piece of cloth over the prince's shoulders, raising the prince's wild mane of hair slightly so it wouldn't get caught in it.

"Any requests, Prince Adam?" The servant asked.

"Short," Adam replied, wanting nothing to do with the hairy Beast he had once been.

The barber set to work immediately, scissors clipping away as chunks of red-brown hair tumbled to the ground. He paused occasionally, and Lumiere would suggest a quick word or two.

"Perhaps a little more off the top," he said, his hand rubbing his chin.

The former coat hanger set off to work again.

When he was finished, and after Adam dozed off a few times, the barber turned the chair around so that the prince could see the finished work.

The prince had to admit, he looked much better. His face, now clean shaven, looked years younger; his hair only hung down to his shoulders now.

"Thank you, Jean," He said politely, stifling a yawn. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd really like to have a word with Lumiere, alone. Jean nodded, bowed, and quickly gathered his things as he left the room.

"Master?" Lumiere asked, hesitantly. "Is there something wrong?"

Adam looked at his feet for a moment, knowing what he had to say. He need to tell Lumiere of his plans, Belle could wake any moment now. The prince cleared his throat, but as he began to speak his voice was no louder than a whisper.

"Lumiere, I trust Mrs. Potts told you and the others about my plans?" The prince knew he sounded too official, the servant raised is eyebrows.

"Of course, your majesty."

"Well," The prince began, "There are certain arrangements to be made. I don't want Belle to recognize any part of the castle... or anyone in it."

Lumiere frowned, "What are you suggesting, your highness?"

As the prince readied himself to tell his most faithful servant of his plans, he took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"Belle must not recognize anything from before. She cannot know I was the Beast, if she knows then I might as well give up all hope... Lumiere, all of the servants look too much like what they looked like before. She's smart, she'll know."The prince took another gulp of air, " The servants must go. If I am to win Belle's affections, she cannot recognize you all. Cogsworth still greatly resembles a clock, Mrs. Potts and chip still look like the teapot and cup Belle knew so well, and you Lumiere still bear a strong resemblance to the candlestick you were."

Lumiere's eyes widened, his eyebrows raised, and his mouth dropped. "H-how long?" He stuttered.

The princes gaze dropped to his feet again. "I don't know," he said solemnly.

A long moment of silence stretched between the two before Adam yawned.

"I'm going to bed," he said, rubbing his eyes. It had been far to long since he slept, he was dead on his feet.

Lumiere only nodded, still too shocked to say anything. The prince decided it wouldn't be prudent to discuss the matter of the servants' departure any more, so he shuffled his way toward the large king-sized bed that dominated most of the room.

"Master?" Lumiere questioned, his voice seemed far away as Adam started to lose his grip on consciousness.

"Yes, Lumiere?" The prince asked, quickly losing his battle against the inevitable sleep.

"We will be gone by morning," the servant assured his master. "Good luck."

The prince nodded his thanks before he collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. Tomorrow would be the start of a new life.

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><p><strong>AN: Longer chapter! I hope you all liked it! Please don't get spoiled, I don't know if I'll be able to do the longer chapters again, but I'll try ;)**

** So a quick explanation of this chapter. After watching the movie (again), I took particular interest in the scene before the infamous dance where the Beast gets ready. Since that never happened in this story, I imagined the post-transformation prince would look a little rougher than he did at the end of the movie. So, anyways if I get enough good feedback in reviews (I know, I'm awful for withholding chapters for reviews) Belle will wake up next chapter. If you would like another chapter, please review. It's the only way I know you like this story.**

**A huge thanks to last chapter's reviewers: PrettyQueen, The Green Archer, BronyBraeburn, find your North Star, and katdancer. You all are the best :) Sorry if I didn't respond to your review last chapter, I lost track of who I sent a reply to and who I didn't. So, I'll just give you a great big virtual hug and a huge "Thank you!" I definitely will respond to any and all reviews for this chapter.**

_Anonymous Reviews replies:_

_PrettyQueen: I'm so glad you keep reading this story! Thank you for your support and kind words, I really hope I don't disappoint you! I hope you continue to like my story as much with each new chapter :)_

_**-Elizabeth**  
><em>


	6. Chapter 6

Blue Eyes

Adam lay in his bed after a long night's sleep; he had slept better than he had in ten years. Not entirely sure about what he wanted to do, he just continued to lay there and think.

He knew what he wanted to do; he wanted to go see Belle in her new room right down the hall. The prince knew that if he got out of bed that would be exactly what he would do. However, it really wasn't prudent to watch her sleep. If Belle happened to wake up and a mysterious man was in the room, Adam shuddered as he thought about what her reaction might be. Belle was, after all, a very independent woman; she could and would take care of herself.

So, Adam only continued to lie in his comfortable king-sized bed, staring at the door to the West Wing in great anticipation. He knew Belle; she would search for the owner of this castle as soon as she woke. Although sending his servants away last night seemed like such a wonderful idea at the time, Adam wished he had waited until Belle awoke. He could've had Mrs. Potts keep an eye on her and alert him when Belle woke. The prince sighed; it was over and done with. His servants, including the ever faithful Mrs. Potts, were long gone by now. As promised, Lumiere had told them all of their master's plan as soon as the prince went to bed and they were gone before the sun rose.

On Adam's bedside table lay a note in Lumiere's elegant script. It notified the prince of where they were and an address to write them by when Adam decided they should return.

The prince knew it was selfish to keep Belle all to himself, but he couldn't help the grin that spread over his lips as he imagined an empty castle all alone with Belle. His smile widened as he thought of all the time he would have only to spend with Belle. They could truly get to know each other, although Adam knew he would have to watch his actions to make sure Belle was not reminded of the Beast in any way.

The prince was startled out of his reverie by a quiet voice. It seemed frightened, but curious as it wafted through the hallways and reverberated of the castle's stone walls.

"Hello?" The feminine voice called, "Is someone there?"

Adam immediately felt an electric jolt run through his body. It was Belle's voice; she was awake.

"Hello?" Belle moved hesitantly throughout the castle. She didn't know where she was; the castle seemed so familiar, yet so different. Belle could've sworn she'd been here before. She moved quickly and quietly through the long hallways, her feet somehow knowing the way. She looked for someone, anyone who could tell her where she was. Her mind raced, trying to put together what she knew with her current situation. The last thing she remembered, Belle had been running through a forest. Wolves had been chasing her and she had been thrown off of Philippe. It had been so cold that night, and the wolves had attacked her; tearing at her dress.

Her dress. She looked down at what she was wearing now, an elegant dress fit for a princess. The emerald material contrasted nicely with her pale skin and fit well on her dainty curves. She was frightened, not remembering what happened to her. After the wolves attacked, she remembered the roar of a nearby beast. Had it been her Beast? Where was he now? Had he been the one to save her?

She looked at her surroundings again, trying to decipher the familiarity the stone and marble walls surrounded her with. This wasn't the Beast's castle; this castle was far more glorious. The white marble and angels were very different from the looming gargoyles that plagued her dreams when she had stayed at the Beast's castle. However, she could not deny this castle was very similar to the one she had spent the past week in.

Belle moved down the steps and found herself in a massive foyer. Red velvet carpet cushioned her bare feet as she continued to search for someone who could give her answers.

She stared in awe at the detail of the intricate carvings that adorned the walls. Mirrors everywhere, something she was accustomed to seeing broken in the Beast's castle, reflected her stunned image a million times over. Belle walked slightly slower now, observing all the ornate furnishings of this mysterious castle. The white marble walls gleamed with perfection, not a scratch or smudge in sight. Belle couldn't help but wonder if anyone really lived here at all. Perhaps this castle was abandoned? She shook her head; that could not be true. If the castle was indeed abandoned, then who brought her here?

The first thing Belle thought of was the Beast, but that wouldn't make any sense. After all, he had been the one to send her away. Surely he wouldn't come rescue her if he meant for her to leave…

Then, Belle remembered the angry roar she had heard. As she lost consciousness, the last thing she had heard was the most infuriated roar she'd ever heard in her life, identical to that of the Beast's. Maybe it was just her imagination; her father always said she had quite the mind to make up her own stories, since she had read so many herself. Belle got to thinking about her father and how much she missed him. She had been so close to seeing him again before the wolves attacked…

Now she was in another strange castle, although this one looked much more optimistic than the one she had previously resided in. However, this castle did not, apparently, have to company of the Beast's. As Belle roamed this strangely familiar place, she couldn't help but think about the objects that had started to become her friends. Mrs. Potts and Chip always brought a smile to her face and warm tea to comfort her, Lumiere and Cogsworth had kept her entertained with their constant bickering and Lumiere's theatrics. She missed them so much though she had barely begun to know them.

At last, Belle came to a room that looked like it had been inhabited recently. An enormous fireplace welcomed her, a fire raging in its hearth. In front of it, a large comfy-looking crimson armchair sat practically begging for her to sit in it. How strange, this room was almost an exact replica of the Beast's, complete with the large chair which the servants had called 'the master's chair' and fireplace. An inanimate clock was perched on the mantle and a still footstool stood in front of the chair. Belle giggled slightly to herself; it was foolish, but she half expected the footstool to bark and run up to her to lick her face.

Now that she thought about it, her feet were quite sore. She made her way over to the chair and practically collapsed in it.

Adam had followed Belle at a safe distance the entire time she had been strolling around his castle. He saw her look of enchantment as she admired his newly restored castle. She had never noticed he was there.

Although he rather liked watching her from a distance, he decided it was time to make himself known. An amused smirk curled his lips as he saw her sit in his chair; he was surprised she hadn't recognized it, it looked exactly the same. His heart started to beat madly in his chest and he feared he might collapse as he opened his mouth to speak. Finally getting the nerve to summon his voice, his cleared his throat, albeit rather weakly. He saw Belle jump in her seat as she quickly turned around.

For a second, his words were lost in his throat. Her chocolate eyes mesmerized him, leaving him speechless. Soon after, he found his voice again.

"Hello," he said, bowing slightly, "I am Prince Adam of Touraine. Welcome to my castle."

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><p><strong>AN: Look what Santa brought you! A brand new chapter! Be sure to leave a review if you'd like another new chapter!**

**As always, a huge thanks to my wonderful reviewers: waggishremarks, find you North Star, civilwarrose, NightRider9, emilylouise95, PrettyQueen, BronyBraeburn, The Green Archer, penpaninuSessh, collective2220, Grimlock the King of Stories, and PrincessQF! Wow that's a long list! THANK YOU! Because of you all, this story is possible.**

**-Elizabeth**


	7. Chapter 7

Blue Eyes

"_Hello," he said, bowing slightly, "I am Prince Adam of Touraine. Welcome to my castle."_

Belle stood there for a moment, frozen in shock. She recognized this man from the portrait in the West Wing, this Prince Adam of Touraine. She frowned; why had the Beast kept a shredded picture of a far away prince in his room? Had this prince been a relative of the Beast? She looked into this man's eyes and saw the exact shade of astonishing blue that the Beast possessed. Surely they must be related somehow… but they weren't even of the same species; could kinfolk extend such boundaries? Perhaps they weren't kin at all, maybe that particular shade of blue eyes were just common in man and Beast alike. However, that did not seem likely; Belle would look into this later, she had more pressing matters to attend to. Such matters included how she came to be in this castle.

Then, Belle realized she hadn't properly acknowledged that she was in the presence of royalty.

"I'm sorry, your highness. I've forgotten to introduce myself," Belle curtsied slightly and looked directly into the prince's beautiful blue eyes. "I am Belle Dupont."

The prince frowned as she curtsied. It didn't seem right for anyone to bow down to him, especially Belle. If anything, he should be groveling at her feet.

"Titles are only necessary in court," he said, looking into Belle's beautiful brown eyes. "In this castle you can call me Adam."

Belle hesitated, the way the prince was looking at her almost made her feel uncomfortable. This man was a stranger; he knew nothing more of her than she knew of him. His deep blue eyes seemed to convey some abstract form of vital information, like they yearned to tell her something but couldn't. It seemed like an eternity as the blue eyes held Belle's brown ones before Belle finally cleared her throat. The prince jumped, apparently not noticing that he'd been staring.

"Well, Adam," Belle said quietly, "I must thank you for your hospitality." Adam raised his eyebrows in surprise; he had never been thanked for anything in his life, much less hospitality. Actually, he recalled that hospitality, or his lack thereof, was the reason he was in this predicament. However, he wasn't complaining. Because of the curse, he had met Belle. It was just getting past this stage of feigning ignorance that was the issue.

Belle frowned at him again, tilting her head a little to the side as if she were trying to figure out some difficult problem. It was then that Adam realized she was expecting a reply.

"Oh," he whispered, mainly to himself. He was still in a slight daze from actually being thanked for the first time in his life. "You're welcome," he managed to choke out.

Belle only nodded curtly in reply. Then, she unexpectedly turned around and headed for the front door. Adam was confused, to say the least.

"Miss Dupont," Adam called. "Where are you going?"

Belle stopped and turned toward the prince once more. She wore an expression full of curiosity as she spoke.

"I plan to return to my own home," she stated simply. "I was headed there when I… lost my way. I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to be going."

Belle simply did not understand. She had to stay here, with him. She could not leave now; he hadn't even had the chance to really get to know her. He was human now; surely he must be more welcoming than the Beast. He remembered this same feeling of panic from a week ago under similar circumstances. When he first saw Belle's radiant face in the moonlight shining through the dungeon's windows, he had first felt shock; he wondered if she was the girl sent to break the spell. Then, he felt panic stronger than he had ever felt in his life. She would leave him as quickly as she came if he did not do something, never knowing the man the Beast could've been. In that moment, experiencing the rawest form of fear, he had done something he would regret until his dying day; he kept her prisoner. Now, Adam had the chance to do the right thing, to put his chances of being with Belle in fate's hands. This time, he would give her an option, and hopefully she would stay. If not, the prince feared for his sanity.

Adam felt his human heart race as he started to ask her the question that could save him or ruin him. It was so simple, only five words that held the key to what he'd been longing for after all this time.

"Miss Dupont," his voice sounded distant to his own ears, "will you stay?"

Belle's eyes widened, not quite sure if she had heard this stranger correctly.

"What?"

Adam took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He couldn't scare her off, not now.

"Will you stay here?" He took another deep breath, taking air into his lungs like a dying man. "The woods are not safe, besides it is a rather long journey from here to any town." Now, he felt awful. He lied to her, she was probably from the little town just a few miles from here, but he needed her to stay here. It would be easier to convince her to stay if she believed that the journey was long and unsafe.

Belle stood there for a moment, contemplating her options. She could leave immediately, heading for her town; the sooner she left, the sooner she would see her father again. Then again, something in her heart told her to stay with this stranger; she could see it in his eyes, he _wanted _her to stay. The way he looked at her, she saw such emotion in the depths of his blue eyes, like he was secretly pleading her to stay here with him.

Besides, as Belle looked out the massive window that took up most of the adjacent wall, she saw a heavily falling snow. The ground outside was already covered in the cotton-like substance and no doubt several inches deep already. Whether she liked it or not, Belle was trapped here.

Belle nodded, unsure of what possessed her to do so. She knew nothing about this man who lived in a castle she had never heard of, but here she was agreeing to live with him despite her better judgment.

Adam beamed, his smile radiant; Belle had never seen someone so happy before in her entire life. Every feature on his face seemed to light up as Belle walked towards him.

He was elated; she had said yes! Adam couldn't help but grin wider with every step Belle took towards him because with every step forward was a guarantee of the thing he needed most: time. It would take time for him to woo Belle, if he could at all. The prince could only give it his best effort.

Belle sat in the plush red chair that stood in the center of the room. Again, the familiarity was astounding; she really expected a dog-like footstool to come for her to rest her feet on. Now, Belle really missed Mrs. Potts and Lumiere in particular as her stomach rumbled rather unpleasantly. She imagined the wonderful hot tea Mrs. Potts could fix her and the extravagant dinner Lumiere lavishly presented to her the other night.

Adam heard the fierce grumble of hunger coming from Belle's stomach and he attempted to cover his chuckle of laughter with a cough. She looked at him sternly, not at all fooled by his façade. However, Adam couldn't help but admire her beauty, even when she was scowling. He saw an adorable dimple on her chin as her lips pulled down at the edges. Although he wanted nothing more than to stay here with her forever, he figured she might want some food.

"Is there anything I can get you?" He asked politely, as if he hadn't heard her stomach growl.

Belle looked up at him, slightly embarrassed. "Well, I am a bit hungry," she admitted.

Adam nodded, smiling again. "Follow me," he said.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hi there again! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, I worked hard so I'd have it for you on New Year's day! Also, I go back to school tomorrow... sigh :( and work, dance, and the rest of reality. Originally, this chapter was much longer and included what I plan to write for the next chapter, but if I did that, you would've had to wait a lot longer because this week (and probably the next) will be really busy for me. So, I hope no one's mad.**

**Please send me a review if you'd like more! Otherwise, I don't have a clue if you like it or not!**

**Thanks to my lovely reviewers: Grimlock the King of Stories, BronyBraeburn, find your North Star, civilwarrose, NightRider9, Nami Swannn, .spirit, emilylouise95, collective2220, Clara Spencer, PrettyQueen, Lady Elena Bella Petrova, The Green Archer, and SunflowerIce. You all make this story possible!**

**Special Thanks to The Green Archer who let me use her version of Belle's last name :) I'm just not very creative when it comes to french names seeing as I don't know any french :/**

****** ALSO, (Yes I know this author's note is long, but this is the last thing I have to say, I promise) Would anyone be offended if I bumped up the rating to 'T'? I don't plan on any Adam/Belle romance (that's returned by Belle) this early, but for purposes later on I would like to have a little higher rating because I do plan on them kissing and such. However, before you even ask I will NOT make them go 'all the way'. Sorry. This story will be kept as clean as possible. If you would be offended by a slight rating change please tell me either by review, PM, or you can even email me at . Please let me know as soon as possible because I plan to do it within the next week or so. **

**Okay, I'm done. Whew, that was a lot to say! Don't forget to leave a review, they make me oh so happy ;)**

**-Elizabeth**


	8. Chapter 8

**There is an author's note at the end… Please read it! **

Blue Eyes

"_Follow me," he said._

Belle followed Adam through the castle hallways, trying to focus her attention on the beautiful pieces of Baroque art that decorated the castle walls. Occasionally, though, Belle would glance at the true subject of her thoughts: this new, mysterious prince.

He was certainly handsome, to say the least, but there was something there that she couldn't quite place, an air of familiarity that plagued her brain, but she was sure she had never met this Prince Adam of Touraine before. She would catch him staring at her every so often, his brilliant blue eyes casually glancing over his broad shoulders and couldn't help but think of the Beast that had held her prisoner not too long ago. No, she decided, these eyes were different somehow, but Belle couldn't dismiss the oddity of seeing this man's portrait in the Beast's room. Belle was curious; her drive to know things and solve puzzles was almost insatiable. So, she continued to ponder over the mystery of Prince Adam, pretending as though her mind was elsewhere so it wouldn't be obvious that she was thinking about the very man in front of her. Then her stomach growled.

The Prince couldn't help but snicker at Belle's stomach once again, or rather the furious blush that crept over her cheeks at the sound. Although, when he thought about where they were going, his chuckling stopped abruptly. His stomach tied in knots and his fair skin blanched even paler; he had promised Belle a meal.

It had seemed so simple at first, preparing dinner was something Lumiere and Mrs. Potts did for him all the time. However, he was not his servants and he hadn't the slightest idea about how to cook.

He hadn't realized until now how spoiled he really was; here he was, nearly twenty one years of age, and couldn't recall fixing a meal for himself… ever. The prince frowned as he thought, but the more he reflected over his life, the more he saw how much his servants had really done for him and it had all gone unappreciated. Adam was surprised that Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, and Cogsworth hadn't left a long time ago, but then again, they had still been under the curse at the time and it would have been impossible to enter society as an animated household object.

The Prince made to run a hand though his hair, before he remembered it was currently in a tidy ponytail and he hadn't the slightest idea how to fix it back if it came out of its arrangement. He was just getting used to having hair on only certain parts of his body, and grooming it was another mountain he had yet to climb on his own. When he was a Beast, he hadn't cared about hygiene, only occasionally washing the blood from his latest kill out of his matted fur when Mrs. Potts had reminded him to do so because he simply hadn't cared enough to do it for his sake.

It was pathetic, really, how much the servants had done for him, he felt utterly useless in this new human body and the fact that he kept stumbling slightly as he walked on two legs didn't help this feeling. He couldn't even ambulate around his own castle, he was worthless. However, he had to disguise his feelings in front of Belle; she couldn't know how new this human thing was to him, or she would see right through him and all chances of being together with her would be gone in a heartbeat. Until he figured out how this new body worked, he would just have to act like he knew what he was doing and as smart as Belle was, Adam knew it was going to be tricky to fool her. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more the young Prince doubted his ability to trick her into thinking he was a stranger. To say it would be a long shot would be a severe understatement.

Adam stopped walking and found himself in front of the castle's kitchen; he nervously glanced over his shoulder at Belle for what seemed like the thousandth time.

Belle, realizing the prince had come to a stop in front of large ornately carved oak doors, also came to a halt. She waited for him to show her inside, but he seemed hesitant to do so. She saw him peek over his shoulder at her once more before he sighed and opened the door.

The Prince held the door open for Belle, as she walked inside and he followed suit. Belle looked around the large dining room, observing all the intricate details that made up the large wooden table and the roaring fireplace on the adjacent wall. The elaborate rooms never ceased to amaze her, but somewhere inside her sighed. She hoped this man was different from Gaston; she didn't need another man trailing about trying to impress her with expensive things and beauty. Belle decided to keep this to herself, though and observe this man for who he was, but made a promise to herself that if this Prince was anything like Gaston, she would be leaving this castle no matter what the Prince said about the storm. Belle kept this inner monologue carefully concealed under the guise of her initial awe.

Adam saw her bewilderment and blushed. He hoped this impressed her… He hoped _he _impressed her. He pulled out a chair beside the long table and gestured for her to sit. She sat down and raised an eyebrow at him to which he responded, "Stay here, I'll be right back."

With that, he walked briskly away to an adjoining room which she was sure was the kitchen.

The former Beast opened the door and found that the kitchen had changed a little with the end of the curse, but still looked relatively the same. There was a brief shock when the stove didn't greet him and the silverware didn't assemble at attention at his entrance; the end of the curse would definitely take some time to get used to. Adam walked over to the inanimate stove and took the box of matches from beside it; with a nervous hand he lit a match and set fire to one of the stoves eyes. Then, seeing as he was at least successful with this simple matter of preparation, he took a deep breath and began to work.

He took a pan from one of the cabinets and set it atop the burning stove, giving himself another nod of approval. Now came the hard part, what should he fix? Of course he wanted to fix Belle something fancy, but that would be difficult considering his lack of cooking knowledge. The Prince sighed and closed his eyes trying to remember back before the curse. What had been his favorite dish as a child? When he thought hard enough, he remembered Mrs. Potts and Lumiere always fixing him this pudding he loved… Pudding en flambé! That was what he should make! It would be sure to impress Belle! It couldn't be too hard, after all Mrs. Potts had made it in minutes every time he had asked for it.

So, what did he need to make a pudding? He eyed the kitchen counters and found a large array of fruit and vegetables there. Bright yellow bananas seemed to be the most in abundance, so banana pudding en flambé it was.

Adam took the whole bunch of bananas in his arms and took them back over to the stove. He wasn't entirely sure how many he would need, so he figured it would be better to have more than Belle wanted than not enough. Because of this, he put ten bananas into the hot pan, with the peeling still on them. However, they didn't quite fit into the small pan. Adam frowned at this and retrieved another pan from the cabinets below. He bent down on his knees to look through all the kitchen ware, but couldn't find a pan bigger, so he picked one roughly the same size as the one currently cooking the bananas and lit another eye on the stove, placing the second pan there. Then, he took half of the fruits out of the pan to place them in the other, taking each by their stem. The Prince couldn't help but frown when he picked each banana up; the peeling was becoming a nasty brown color and didn't look at all appetizing. Then again, he guessed since he wasn't finished yet, maybe it was supposed to look that way. Doubtful, he scanned the cabinets again to find something else to hopefully make his food look like the pale yellow pudding he remembered from his childhood days.

In the various cabinets he found some sugar, a glass bottle of milk (Mrs. Potts must've fetched it this morning before she left. He was thankful she did too, because he hadn't the slightest idea how to milk a cow…), and some bread. He picked up the loaf and eyed it for a moment, wondering if it was typically used in banana pudding. Looking over at the now blackened bananas on the stove, he wondered how he was supposed to get the creamy texture pudding was supposed to have out of _that._ Taking the loaf of bread and heavy bag of sugar in one hand, and the glass bottle of milk in the other, Adam started to make his way over to the stove again. However, this was easier said than done. The large burlap sack of sugar was much too heavy to be carried in one hand, as Adam soon discovered. Without his beastly strength anymore, it was much more difficult to lift with his smaller, but still quite large for a human, muscles. He wasn't a Beast anymore, so he would have to adjust to these new limits his human body set. So, he set the sugar down and took only the bread and milk with him to the stove. Once there, he added half of the large bottle of milk to each banana-filled pan. Each pan sizzled when the liquid met the hot surface, and this made Adam jump, spilling a small puddle of milk on the floor. He glanced at the spilt milk for a second, growing more frustrated by the minute, but took a deep breath and decided he'd clean it up later. He knew Belle was very hungry and needed food right away.

Next, he looked at the bread and frowned; he still couldn't decide if people normally used bread to make pudding. Well, he thought, he remembered there was something called bread pudding, maybe it was just another name for banana pudding. The Prince shrugged, and then realized that he probably shouldn't just add a whole loaf of bread to the blackened bananas and milk, that just didn't seem right. Adam got a china plate out from one of the glass cabinets above, and broke the bread into two pieces and laid them on the plate. As he was doing this, he started to smell an awful stench. He wrinkled his nose and turned to look at the stove.

There he saw a pile of clearly burnt bananas smoking in their pan. The prince looked at the charcoal bananas in horror and quickly raced to take them off the stove, but forgot about the spilt milk in the floor beside the stove. By the time he remembered the slippery substance, he had landed firmly on his bottom in the floor. Then, the Prince's temper flared angrily as he sat there, and stubbornly tried to stand again, grabbing hold of the handle of the banana filled pan for balance. Of course, this only sent him back into the floor covered in hot milk and burnt bananas.

The former Beast roared in anger and pain as he was covered in the hot and sticky substance and grabbed one of the nearest pans and threw it across the room, where it landed with a loud CLANG!

Belle, still in the dining hall in the seat the Prince had offered her, was growing more and more worried by the minute. Prince Adam had been gone for quite some time before she heard the animalistic mixture of a growl and a shout of frustration and the loud sound of metal meeting tile. She quickly rose in alarm and ran into the kitchen.

What she saw when she opened the door was nothing short of hilarious. The Prince sat in a puddle of milk, his auburn hair turned dark and wet by something white dripping from it, which she assumed to also be milk. Burnt bananas still in their peelings surrounded him and a skillet lay beside him overturned with more blackened bananas peeking out from the underside of that. She also saw more burnt bananas littering the floor all the way to the opposite side of the kitchen where another pan laid dripping in milk making another puddle of its own.

Belle looked back over to the Prince, who apparently hadn't noticed her entrance yet, as his eyes still murderously glaring at the pan laying across the room. She didn't know whether the look of pure fury on his face was hilarious or frightening, but the fact that he was still covered in milk and black bananas forced a giggle up her throat. She covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers and crossed the other arm underneath her elbow as she tried to stifle the now bubbling laughter that was erupting from her.

Adam looked up, his expression unchanging, when he heard someone laughing at him. He was furious, but when he saw who the laughter came from, his skin blanched in horror and his eyes stared wide as he saw Belle standing by the door.

"I-I'm s-sorry," he stuttered, still trying to keep whatever dignity he still had, although he was horrified that Belle, of all people, had caught him in this position. "I-I'll have this cleaned right up-"

"Let me help you," Belle offered, rushing over to his side. She took his hand and helped him up, which was surely nothing to her, but was everything to Adam. The skin of her hand on his own human hand felt so wonderful, better than anything he had ever felt before, but that wasn't really an accurate description since he hadn't had many pleasant sensations in his lifetime. All his fury at the present situation dissipated at her touch. Her hand in his had been the first skin on skin contact he'd had in the last ten years, and he couldn't have imagined anything ever feeling something as wonderful, as fantastic as Belle's slender hand in his.

Even when he had already been helped to his feet, he didn't want to let go of her hand. It felt so perfect, but Adam sighed and let it go. He couldn't do that now; he was a stranger to her. He looked into Belle's warm brown eyes and saw everything he wanted in her puzzled expression. He looked away quickly, remembering he had the same eyes as the Beast, that they had never changed despite the physical form he was in, he had to remember to avoid eye contact for a while until she forgot about the Beast, enough to never piece together who he really was. Adam knew that if Belle ever figured out who he was, who he had been, then it was all over. She would want nothing to do with the man that had once been her captor, once been the Beast he knew she had despised.

Together, they cleaned up the kitchen, and then Belle decided it might be for the best that she at least help him fix the meals from now on after Adam insisted she not cook for him.

Adam and Belle were fixing a salad for each of them when Belle quietly asked, "You never fixed a meal before, have you?"

"No," he replied quickly and quietly, ashamed of this fact. "My servants normally do it for me."

"Oh," Belle responded. Now that he had acknowledged the fact, she recalled never seeing a servant once in the castle. How strange, she thought, surely they must be somewhere. A castle this large couldn't be kept up by one man. "Where are they?" she asked.

"I sent them on a well deserved vacation," Adam replied, smiling to himself. He smiled because they really did deserve it, they had to be the most patient people in the world to put up with the Beast; his explosive temper did not help the fact that he was hard to get along with. Now he planned to change that though, he wasn't going to take his new found humanity for granted.

When their salads were done, Belle sat down with her plate at the simple wooden table in the kitchen. Adam, his own plate still in his hands, stood by Belle and frowned.

"Don't you want to eat in the dining hall?" He offered, the kitchen wasn't nearly as impressive as the exquisite dining hall. Would she really rather sit in this hard wooden chair at this simple wooden table than at the table fit for a King and Queen?

"No, I'm fine here," Belle said simply.

Adam didn't question Belle's strange response. He sat down beside her in another simple wooden chair, but didn't eat. His eyes widened nervously as he realized he hadn't the slightest idea how to eat like a human. As a Beast, he hadn't cared for table manners because the spoons, forks, and knives had been much too small for his large paws. So the Prince sat there, staring at his food without the slightest idea about how to eat it.

He glanced at Belle nervously, watching her eat for a moment and hoping to get an idea. She held her fork daintily in her hand at an angle as she speared some lettuce and brought the utensil up to her mouth where she took a bite. Adam looked away quickly so she wouldn't notice his dilemma. The angle in which she held the fork looked rather complicated, and so he resolved not to try in front of her. Despite his stomach's protests, he mumbled, "I'm not hungry."

Belle looked at him curiously, before nodding and returning her attention back to her own food. Meanwhile, Adam only stared at his plate full of food wishing he could eat without making a fool of himself. Later, he resolved, he would come down and figure this out so he would be able to eat with Belle tomorrow.

Belle yawned as she finished her last few bites. She stood and took her plate to the sink to be washed, offering to take Adam's full plate of food as well.

"No, I'll save it for when I'm hungry," he replied quietly.

Belle frowned, but nodded once again. Adam left his plate at the wooden table as he also stood and offered to escort Belle to her room. She yawned as she nodded her assent.

She followed Adam all the way up to the West Wing and he bowed slightly as he opened the door for her and bid her goodnight, which she returned. After he shut her door, he made his way back to the kitchen where he sat back down and tried to figure out how to use a fork and eat like a human. He supposed his attempts to eat would look humorous to an onlooker, but since he knew Belle was asleep upstairs and the rest of the castle was empty, he wasn't too self-conscious about how silly he must have looked.

Little did he know Belle was not asleep; in fact she was standing just outside the door.

* * *

><p><strong>Hi there! No, I'm not dead; I know you must have thought so considering I haven't updated since January. I'm awful and I know it. I'm really and truly sorry. I'm here to let you know that your reviews, alerts, and favorites inspired me to continue this story after so long :) See what your reviews can do!<strong>

**Also, I wanted to give you an explanation of my absence. Final exams for both semesters were brutal and my exams for my college classes I was taking as a high school junior were even worse, but that wasn't the issue. I was also cast in my dance studio's ballet _Sleeping Beauty_****as Flora. For those of you familiar with the story, this was a huge part (even larger than Sleeping Beauty herself in the ballet version) and to say I was shocked would be an understatement considering only seniors at the studio only get cast as principles and being a junior I definitely didn't expect to get such a large part, or even a part at all. However, my dance instructors had been watching me in class and were impressed. So because of this role, I had to take extra classes on pointe (which is the ballet toe shoes for those unfamiliar with ballet) every day from the minute I got out of school till very late at night. It was hard, but we put on a fantastic performance about two weeks ago. Then, my dance company went to national competition for the last two weeks and won the President's Cup! So, I've spent the entire week this week on my computer writing this monstrosity in hopes that an extra long chapter will make up for my absence. **

**Please review and tell me you're still there! The updates should be much quicker now and the story rating will be bumped up because of all the PMs and reviews saying it was okay. If you have a problem with a rating change to a T please let me know ASAP. Otherwise it will be changed later today.  
><strong>

**Thanks so much for reading! **

**Lots of love,**

**Elizabeth :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry this took a little longer than expected, my old laptop finally died. However, now I have this lovely new MacBook Air that is much faster! Oh, and I got a job... Anyways, I thought this was much quicker than last time's almost six month gap (which will hopefully never happen again). Alright, I'll stop now and let you read :) Just remember reviews make updates come quicker because of the wonderful state of euphoria they send me into ;)**

Blue Eyes

There was something different about this Prince Adam of Touraine, Belle Dupont was sure of it. His actions were so strange, like he was unsure of every move he made. Each step he took was hesitant, as if he were being extra careful not to fall.

Then there was the kitchen incident. Adam had quickly excused his lack of cooking knowledge on the absence of his servants, but was that true? Surely his servants had not done everything for him, despite his royal status. It was doubtful he really knew that little about commonplace activities, but after seeing him miserably covered in burnt bananas and milk, she could definitely tell he had tried as hard as he could to prepare a meal for her. It seemed like a desperate attempt to impress her, almost like Gaston's previous antics for her hand in marriage, but sweeter and less controlling. Was this man, this Prince Adam of Touraine, trying to impress her for some reason? Surely not, he was royalty after all; Belle was only a girl from a nearby village he hardly knew. They'd only just met that day.

For all these reasons, Belle became ever more perceptive at dinner that night after they had prepared salads, or rather Belle prepared salads as Adam occasionally pitched in, hoping he wouldn't mess up again. Belle observed him as he took his salad plate with unsteady hands to his seat at the wooden table that she herself had insisted eating at. Then, curiously, he just sat there, staring at the plate and fork as if they were foreign objects to him. Before Belle could say anything, the Prince mumbled that he wasn't hungry. She raised an eyebrow at him, curious for a moment, then decided to let the topic go for the moment and nodded.

Belle followed the Prince back up to her room later that evening, letting her eyelids droop slightly feigning exhaustion. In actuality, Belle wasn't tired at all; thoughts of Prince Adam and what he was hiding kept her evermore anxious and ruined any possibility that she might go to bed at this hour. Although Belle was sure it must be late, the Prince looked far from tired as well. His rigid posture, Belle observed, seemed too tense to deny her suspicions. So, when the Prince shut her door after bidding her goodnight, she waited for a moment and stared at the ordinate carvings on the oak doors. Belle frowned.

As Belle looked closer, at the carvings around the edge of the door were of intertwined roses. They were beautiful, but they reminded Belle of another castle and another rose she had stared at a few days earlier.

Belle remembered going into the West Wing, seeing the portrait of the boy with the Beast's eyes. With a small gasp, her frown burrowed deeper, making deep lines between her brows.

Belle had forgotten the specifics of what happened that night, forgotten the irrevocable conclusion she had come to, but as her dainty hand traced the intricate wooden roses on the door in front of her she remembered everything.

_The man's face was so familiar, but Belle couldn't exactly place where she had seen it before. Then again, it wasn't his face she recognized; it was his distinct features._

_His hair was an attractive red-brown color. It was wavy as it hung loose past his wide, strong shoulders. Belle knew that color…_

_The feature that stood out to Belle the most was his eyes. The bright blue eyes were something she had definitely seen before. But somehow they looked different, kind and gentle; somehow Belle had expected them to be fierce and full of anger and hatred. Belle removed her hand from the piece she held up making his mouth and stroked the cheek of the man in the painting. Her hand moved upwards to his oh-so-familiar eyes and she rubbed her thumb over them. Immediately, she knew where she had seen them before. The thought was absolutely absurd, she feared she was losing her mind when she thought of it, but there was no mistaking it now. She knew what she saw; what she had seen were the Beast's eyes staring back at her._

_A single tear sprang forth from her right eye as she continued to look upon the Beast's eyes on a man's face. She was right, she knew it; Belle had recognized the man's hair as the fur coat of the Beast. Although, the Beast's fur was much more matted and tangled, it was definitely the same._

Had she gone mad? She must be, for here she was thinking that this man she barely knew and the Beast were one in the same. It was insane, positively preposterous, this idea that had formed itself inside her brain. It couldn't be true, it wasn't possible, these sort of events only took place in her books and they were purely fiction. They were not real.

However, Belle couldn't deny how much she had always wanted to climb into her books and be part of those fantastic stories that provided a world so much more than her own, something better than she was offered in her poor provincial town. Would it be wrong to imagine such bizarre things that had once only existed in her storybooks could be real? Was it simply too crazy to believe in such things?

Crazy. The word brought such fury to Belle because along with that word came another man who believed her to be crazy.

Gaston.

_"It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas and thinking…"_

He was absolutely infuriating. So arrogant, rude, conceited ,boorish, brainless… Honestly, he was worst than any Beast she had ever encountered. He thought he knew everything about her when he couldn't be more wrong.

_"Picture this: a rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting on the fire and my little wife massaging my feet, while the little ones play on the floor with the dogs." He turned to her again, "We'll only have six or seven," he said, shrugging it off nonchalantly as if he were asking nothing of her. _

White hot fury enveloped Belle as she thought of that day. He had planned their wedding before he even proposed, assuming he would win again, like he always had.

She would not let him win, even if it did make her… odd… for believing in strange ideas.

Although, the thought that a Beast could also be a human was more than just a bit odd. Even though it was intriguing, Belle thought, that this mysterious prince could somehow be the Beast. It was like her favorite story, the one the bookkeeper gave her, about a prince in disguise. Had the Beast merely been a disguise? Who was this Prince Adam of Touraine really?

Belle jerked her hand away from the carved rose, as she thought of something else. Shouldn't she try to find some other proof that this could even happen?

The last thing Belle remembered was leaving the castle on Philippe in the wintery storm. It had been so cold, but she had been in such a rush to get away from the castle and back home to her father, she had tried to ignore the sting of the frozen air against her frost bitten cheeks as she rode through the forest. It hadn't been too long before the wolves had blocked her path. She had tried to fight back, but there were too many of them. They clawed at Philippe, as her poor horse panicked and stood on his hind legs. She gripped his reigns in an attempt to stay on, but her hand were too cold to function properly. She slid off Philippe into the snow. Belle remembered hearing the furious roar from a Beast before she lost consciousness.

Had the Beast been the one to save her from the wolves? They hadn't been on the best of terms when she left, he had sounded so heart broken as he released her. Her heart had called out to him in such a miserable state. She remembered telling him she loved him, only it seemed to not even come from her. It was like some other force was possessing her to say it. The Beast didn't have a reason to follow her into the woods when he was clearly not interested in her company. As far as Belle knew, the Beast hated her; he probably would've let the wolves eat her alive. Besides, Prince Adam had said...

Now that she thought about it, the enigmatic prince _hadn't _said anything about how he had found her in the middle of the woods. How curious, Belle thought, and resolved to ask him about this later.

At that moment, Belle decided to take a journey through this castle she hadn't known existed. If the Prince and the Beast were one in the same, then surely his castle was too. Perhaps its appearance directly correlated to the condition of the Prince and as a result would have something to recognize it by. Like the Prince's eyes, Belle hoped that there was something that was the same.

At this though, Belle frowned. She hadn't seen much of the castle at all; in fact, she had been on a tour when she had decided to venture off into the West Wing. The only room she really knew well enough was the room she had been given be the Beast himself.

This was where Belle would have to start, she supposed, and carefully opened the door without making a sound. She hesitantly poked her head out of the door and looked both ways to make sure Prince Adam wasn't around. When she saw the halls were empty, she quickly stepped out of the doorway and turned to shut it behind her with a soft click. Checking once more to make sure the coast was clear, she headed down the main stairwell.

Belle remained cautious as she wandered through the castle's corridors in search of a room she had only been to once or twice. The castle was eerily quiet with no one else inhabiting it; which made Belle think once again. She remembered that Prince Adam had told her he had sent his servants on a vacation. Was it because they were still as Belle remembered them, as objects, while the Beast himself had become human? It was unlikely; if they were still objects, they surely couldn't return to society. It was frustrating to say the least, trying to figure out what exactly had happened , so much so that Belle doubted she would ever understand it all unless Prince Adam told her himself. This was, of course, assuming that the Beast was the Prince in disguise. Belle was almost sure of it, she just needed to find this room as proof.

Then again, there were so many things that had changed about the castle, so much that Belle wasn't sure if she'd be able to find the room at all. If she did find it, would it still be the same?

At that moment Belle reached the end of a long hallway; she was on the fourth floor of the castle and though it looked very different from how it did before, it had a certain air of familiarity that couldn't be misplaced. It was much the same as the feeling Belle got around Adam. She had been here before.

Arching an eyebrow, Belle eyed the cupid shaped door handles with doubt. They had been in the shape of grotesque Beasts before, but her fingers still itched with curiosity to pull on Cupid's Arrows and see the inside of the room before her. When she did, she realized the door was as heavy as before, but with a good sturdy pull she was able to open it.

Belle was met with complete darkness. She couldn't see her delicate hand in front of her face. Frowning once more, she journeyed to the opposite wall and felt for cloth. When her hand filled with velvet, she took a pile in each hand and tugged hard on the heavy material. Immediately, moonlight bathed the room and Belle saw the familiar rose colored curtains still grasped tightly in her hands. She shut her eyes, preparing for a sight that would change everything and confirm her wildest imaginations; Belle turned around to face the inside of the room and opened her eyes abruptly.

Belle gasped.

Her small hand flew to her mouth in astonishment as the familiar room was unveiled before her eyes. She stood at the window, frozen in shock and unable to move, but not completely understanding her actions. This was what she had been expecting, why was she so dumbfounded?

It was like she had jumped into her own storybook full of magic, for this was the only explanation for what she was seeing now.

It was her room in the Beast's castle, completely unchanged since it had lacked any bestial elements before. The walls were still a pristine white marble and the bed was draped with the same rose curtains and decorated with the all to familiar green and rose pillows and green comforter that she had cried so many tears on that first night. The only noticeable difference was the still armoire beside the bed. What did this mean? Where the servants human now, too? Belle stared at the furniture for a moment expecting Madame de la Grande Bouche to open her eyes and greet her and suggest some elaborate dressing gown for her to wear. When it didn't happen, Belle shook her head and decided to think on a much more productive track.

She was certain this was the Beast's castle, so that meant this Prince Adam of Touraine was formerly the Beast. What had happened? She was sure he wouldn't tell her; this was yet another thing she had to find out for herself.

So, not feeling the least bit tired, Belle headed downstairs. She had a feeling Prince Adam would be down there, although she hadn't the slightest intention to speak with him. No, she planned to see this Beast-turned-human and how he acted when he wasn't aware of her presence. Remembering the way from the time Lumiere had escorted her to the dining room the night of his fantastic show, it didn't take Belle too long to reach her destination.

As Belle peeked through the crack in the doorway, she saw a sight that she couldn't help but find humorous. Prince Adam sat at the wooden table, thick brows furrowed in deep concentration as he held he fork in many different positions while he eyed the salad he and Belle had made hungrily. He twisted and turned the fork in his hand, unsure of exactly how to hold it. He dropped the utensil many times before he finally skewered a piece of lettuce, albeit he was holding the fork at a very awkward angle. Even then, he dropped the fork a few times on the way to his mouth. When the Prince finally managed to perfect his grip on the fork, he leaned forward much more than necessary and stuck his chin out like a muzzle before taking his lower teeth and scraping the leaves into his mouth. Clearly, this was the Beast. This man hadn't the slightest idea how to eat like a human, much less fix a meal for him self.

Everything fit, despite how impossible it seemed. From the way he walked, ate, and seemed to be hiding something, to the astounding similarities in hair color and eyes, Belle was sure this was the Beast. Though, this man seemed to have changed somehow, in more ways than purely physical. He was no longer the cruel animal that had taken her sick father to be his prisoner, or sentenced her to starve in her room and stay in the castle with him forever. This Prince Adam of Touraine was giving her a choice, one Gaston had never offered as many times as he tried to force her hand and eventually end up raising six or seven little ones, and one the Beast hadn't offered either. Prince Adam was letting Belle do what she wanted and Belle decided it felt nice. So, she stood there for about half an hour watching the Beast learn how to be human again, but he didn't give up like the Beast would have. Despite how silly she knew he knew he looked he continued to try. For what reason, Belle was clueless. However, she felt intrusive as she realized that he didn't know she was there and didn't know that she was watching him trough all his mistakes. Belle smiled slightly to herself before heading upstairs to bed and dreaming of things far more realistic than reality.

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><p><strong>So a slightly shorter chapter than I intended it to be, but its 3 in the morning and guess what?! It's my seventeenth birthday! So please can I somehow get to one hundred reviews for a birthday present? It's 12 reviews and I know hundreds of people are reading this. So please, I really would love for you to give the best present ever by reviewing; it doesn't have to be <strong>**critical of my story, just a simple 'hi' or 'happy birthday' will do. I would really appreciate it. Oh, and I promise I will reply to all your reviews this time. This chapter was a heck of a chapter to write because I was so unsure of where I wanted it to go. However, now I know exactly what I plan on doing for another two or three chapters and I plan for them to be my favorites ;) So, please PLEASE review to get me to that magical 100 that's so close! Reviewers will get a virtual slice of my yummy birthday cake (and my Grandmother is making it, so it doesn't get much better ;) ) I will leave you there with one last 'please?'. I love you all, and I'm getting really crazy from lack of sleep. I really should go to bed.**

**-Elizabeth**


	10. Chapter 10

Blue Eyes

_Dear Mrs. Potts,_

_Everything is not going according to plan. I've made a complete fool of myself and I fear that if I don't seek immediate help, Belle will see right through me. I think that the chances of her recognizing me alone are much greater than her recognizing the servants. Because of this, I am asking that you, along with the rest of the staff, please return to the castle immediately._

_I need your help; being human wasn't as easy as I thought it would be._

_Adam_

This was just a precaution, Adam reminded himself. He had to do everything in his power to make sure Belle wouldn't discover who he really was. Was writing to Mrs. Potts the moment things got out of hand blowing things out of proportion? Adam didn't think so, especially not after the pudding incident. In fact, Adam wouldn't be surprised if Belle was suspicious already. Honestly, what kind of prince couldn't even feed himself? He was pathetic.

He only hoped Mrs. Potts could read his pathetic, untidy scrawl, surely full of misspelled words. He thought the letter sounded decent, but it had taken him hours to remember that short bit from the years of tutoring Cogsworth had made him endure. Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts…

He needed his servants; he had come to that conclusion last night as he figured out how to eat with a fork again. He needed them all; Lumiere to tell him how to get the girl (which he wanted desperately, more than anything), Cogsworth to reteach him the etiquette he had forgotten as the Beast, and Mrs. Potts to be a mother to guide him through the frustration (and help him control his ever-exploding temper). Being human again was harder than he ever thought it could be; he needed them all more than he ever thought he would. It didn't help that he was trying to win Belle's affections along the way.

Belle.

He had hardly seen her at all today. Perhaps this was a good thing though; he didn't want to repeat the incidents of last night. Making a new dish for her surely would turn out just as the pudding did and he didn't think he could bare another disaster. However, as the prince began to think, he realized he could do more for her than bake… But what? What did women like? This was where he needed Lumiere. Adam imagined asking Lumiere what to do with Belle, thinking of the hundreds of possibilities Lumiere would surely list right off the bat. He sat at the long dining room table to ponder the possibilities with his head in his hands, gripping his loose auburn hair tightly in frustration.

The letter addressed to Mrs. Potts drifted, forgotten for the moment, softly to the polished wood of the dining room floor.

* * *

><p>Belle woke early that morning. The morning sun rose in the eastern adjacent window and sent large squares of light onto her bed and across her face. On a normal day, Belle would have gotten up and started her day at this time, but this was not a normal day. Her wildest daydreams had come to pass.<p>

Belle laid in her bed thinking about the impossible occurrences of last night and the shocking realizations she had come to.

However, as of late, it seemed that the impossible was becoming all the more probable every day. Her fairytales were coming right off the page and she was the main character.

Laying in her gigantic mound of lacy pillows, she threw one arm over her head and stared at the ceiling and the ornate crystal chandelier hanging from it. It was beautiful, throwing rainbows of light around the room. Belle thumbed the comforter, the colorful patches of light seemed to be part of the magic that so obviously resided in this castle.

As strange and unlikely as it seemed, the Beast and Prince Adam were one in the same. Belle laid there for hours, contemplating what this meant. The Prince seemed completely different from the Beast; he was so hospitable, a gentleman from what Belle could tell. She remembered the Beast's rage and fury as his temper got out of hand. In contrast, she had never seen the Prince lose the calm and complacent attitude he kept. Well, except for when she caught him after the pudding incident. His fury at the frying pan was absolutely hilarious, but understandable she supposed. Then Belle frowned as she recalled the Beast's somber attitude before he let her go. His broken demeanor, the way he looked longingly at the rose that seemed to be the center of his whole world made Belle's heart ache. Could this have been the beginnings of what made him the Prince he was now? Had he been sad to know his life as the Beast was almost over?

Belle shook her head, put her hands over her face, and let out a sigh of frustration. Staying in bed all day wouldn't answer her questions, so she resolved to finally make her way downstairs. Belle got out of bed and made her way to the wardrobe, one that looked very similar to an inanimate Madame De La Grande Bouche, and picked out a lovely green dress. She styled her hair into its usual ponytail and tied a matching green ribbon around it. Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath before heading downstairs. She paused only once to glance at the rose carvings on the door before continuing on her way.

Once downstairs, she wandered a bit until she found a room with the door open. Stepping inside, her eyes widened as she recognized the large dining hall from last night and, most importantly, the man in the chair that the head of the table. Prince Adam apparently had not noticed her presence yet, as his head was still in his hands and his face a mask of concentration and worry. Belle took a moment to digest the facts that she knew and the realization she didn't exactly want to come to. How could a man as nice and hospitable as Prince Adam be the terrible Beast she remembered? Deciding she needed even more evidence, she knew she needed to talk to him. Softly clearing her throat, as not to startle him with her sudden presence, she quietly made herself known.

Adam looked up in surprise.

"Belle!"

She walked over to him, not exactly sure how to start this conversation. Thankfully, he saved her from what would surely be the wrong way to find her answers by asking, "Did you sleep well?"

He looked her right in the eye as he said this, completely concerned about her. Belle felt herself take an involuntary sharp gasp as she met his piercing blue eyes, the Beast's eyes. Now that she knew what she did, it was obvious. She knew those blue eyes, no matter what the face they appeared on.

Realizing she hadn't answered Prince Adam's question, she dropped her eyes for a second to think. No, she hadn't slept well at all. Her mind had been plagued all night by thoughts of the Beast, the prince, and the painting in the Beast's study. However, she couldn't quite tell him that. Now wasn't the time to question him outright about his former self. Although, unable to lie to his face, she answered, "Not really."

Prince Adam's face fell. He was genuinely hoping that she had slept well in his castle.

"I'm sorry," he replied, his face revealing how sorry he was. His blue eyes were very expressive. "Was anything not to your liking?"

Belle fought the impulse to tell him what she knew, instead she took a minute to carefully phrase what to say. She smiled slightly, still not quite meeting his eyes, as she replied, "No everything was very nice. I must thank you for letting me stay here for the time being."

His face brightened at her words. "You're very welcome," he replied. Quickly getting up, he pulled a chair out for her at the enormous table. "Here," he gestured to the empty plush seat, "please sit."

Belle smiled softly. "Thank you," she said, tucking her dress' skirt under her legs as she sat on the soft red velvet. She was thoughtful for the moment, noticing that the prince had said 'please'. The Beast would've never said that, sincerely at least. Something must've really changed him, something big. It was just like one of her storybooks, but this led her to another train of thought. Perhaps this wasn't permanent, like so many of those stories she had read. Many of them had a condition that had to be met to make the spell permanent and this worried Belle. She liked this new man he had become; she didn't want the Beast back.

"Still drowsy?" The prince's voice cut through her subconscious rambling and brought her back to the present.

"Hm?" She asked, her mind still caught up in her musings. "Oh yes," she concluded, "I guess I am." She grasped any excuse that explained her lack of alertness.

Adam smiled sweetly at her, sighing. "You know you could always sleep for today; you don't have to stay up today. You're welcome to whatever makes you happy in this castle or its grounds."

"No, I couldn't possibly sleep now! This castle is huge! I would love to see more of it." Belle was truly eager to see more of the castle, as her previous tour had been cut short. Also, she wasn't ready to separate from Prince Adam; she wanted to try to find any clues about what could've possibly happened to him. It was all so intriguing!

"Alright!" Adam wasn't at all hesitant to accept her enthusiasm; he would take any excuse to spend more time with Belle. He eagerly stood from his extravagant red velvet chair, slamming his knee against the wooden table's edge. Adam let out an almost animalistic growl of pain and reflexively grabbed at his knee, "THAT HURT," he screamed.

Belle gasped, her eyes wide. Her hands reached out impulsively to help, but she couldn't help but notice what just happened. Since she met this Prince Adam of Touraine last night, she hadn't seen any trace of the Beast in this new man. It was like all resemblance to the Beast had disappeared under whatever spell that had brought the prince from the portrait back. Belle acknowledged that this man had once been the Beast; however, it was now that she saw that the Beast could still be there under the facade of the prince.

She saw a fire in the eyes of Prince Adam that she so clearly remembered being in the blue eyes of the Beast.

Adam looked over at Belle and saw the look in her eyes. It wasn't fear and that was what scared him. It was conviction, the very thing he had begun to fear most since last night. He had to lose all traces of the Beast, either that or lose Belle. He just couldn't do the latter, not after everything she had changed.

He slowly released his knee from his tight grip, leaving his knee only mildly throbbing, even though that was the last thing on his mind right now. His eyes grew wide as he stammered, "I-I'm sorry. That was completely unnecessary. You'll have have to excuse me, I sometimes can have quite a temper. Forgive me, it will not happen again."

Belle nodded numbly, putting a smile on her face as she hadn't completely recovered from the beastly outburst from moments before. After a few more seconds of silence, Adam's stomach growled. Belle laughed, a genuine smile spread on her face.

"So it looks like I'm not the only one with a insistent stomach," she giggled.

Adam smiled, happy to see her happy. "So it would seem."

"You fixed dinner," she said, her grin broadening as she remembered the dinner fiasco. "I can make breakfast." As Belle got up and walked towards the kitchen doorway, Adam grabbed her wrist gently. "I insist," he replied. "You're the guest."

As the prince said this, Belle was reminded of her first night in this castle. Lumiere's catchy dinner song echoed in her ears, "_Be our guest! Be our guest! Put our service to the test!"_

Belle raised an eyebrow at him as if to challenge him. "Please," Adam pressed. Without Lumiere, he hadn't the faintest idea of how to woo a woman other than with food. Though, now Adam knew better than trying to fix something complicated like the disastrous pudding enflame ever again, or at least until he had more experience in the kitchen. When he did, he planned to cook for Belle as much as she would let him.

Something in those blue eyes broke Belle and without a word, she returned to her seat and smiled as a way of consent. Adam returned the smile.

"What would you like?"

With the most serious face she could muster, Belle replied, "Pudding."

The Prince's eyed grew wide, thinking she was serious for a moment. At least he knew how _not _to do it this time… When he thought about it and realized her joke, he let out a relieved, airy laugh along with Belle.

"Surprise me." Belle amended.

Adam smiled in response, his chest tightening in anticipation as he took a few steps towards the kitchen. Perhaps something simpler this time? Yes, that was obvious, but was simple bad? What if she didn't like what he made; or worse, what if he made an even bigger disaster than last night?

Then he remembered the wonderful teamwork they shared in preparing salads. Well, while Belle assembled the salads and Adam marveled at her face.

It was better to play it safe and not to risk it with so much on the line...

Adam turned around towards Belle and nervously asked, "Would you like to help me?"

To this, Belle smiled. "Of course." He was changing everyday, accepting the fact that he needed help. The fact he actually asked for it and swallowed his pride showed Belle how little of the Beast seemed to be left.

Together they fixed eggs; Belle let Adam scramble them as she instructed him step by step how to do so. Together they cut fruit, Adam smiling broadly as he mastered handling a knife. After doing so well in the kitchen this time, compared to his disastrous first attempt, the young prince insisted that he put the 'final touches' on the food, which Belle wasn't all too sure what that consisted of. Belle smiled slightly to herself, covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers so Adam wouldn't see.

Excusing herself to set the table, Belle headed back out the kitchen door to the dining room with her hands full of breakfast plates and glasses. Setting the expensive china down gently on the table, her foot came in contact with something on the floor. She looked down to see a piece of parchment written on in messy scrawl, she looked around carefully making sure Prince Adam was still in the kitchen. Observing that he was, she quickly bent down and picked up the parchment and read its contents. She couldn't help but feel like she wasn't supposed to be doing it, like she was invading his privacy, but once she laid her eyes on the first couple of words on the paper, she couldn't put the paper down even if she wanted to.

It was better than her storybooks.

_Dear Mrs. Potts, _it began and she felt her heart almost stop. As she continued to skim the letter's contents, her heart restarted in double time.

When Belle reached the end of the it, the last sentence made her breath catch in her throat.

_Being human wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. _

_Adam_

For a moment Belle's mind was completely blank, an extremely rare occurrence. She didn't know what to think. The letter fell out of her hand and drifted softly back to its original position on the floor, looking as if it had never been moved from its original position.

Belle supposed she shouldn't keep on being surprised. She had already figured as much, but this was written proof of the prince's previous identity.

The letter also disclosed other important information, like the servants' whereabouts. The Prince himself had apparently sent them away, but why? Were they human now, too? If not, could they be watching her right now without her notice?

Belle's eyes frantically searched the room for any piece of furniture or any object that could possibly be alive, but not finding any. She felt a strange sense of disappointment; she desperately missed the servants as they had been her first friends in the castle, despite the short amount of time that she had known them. They were truly wonderful people, despite their outer appearances.

Before Belle had a chance to think anymore, Prince Adam came out with their breakfast. Trying to act normal, Belle made for the nearest chair to Adam's at the head of the table. Adam rushed over, placing the two plates on the table, and pulled out Belle's chair for her.

"Thank you," she murmured, her mind was still racing from reading the letter. She and Adam enjoyed their simple meal they prepared together in silence, Belle speechless from the letter and Adam unsure about what to say to her. Once they both finished eating, Adam cleared his throat in a manner that suggested he wanted to break the uncomfortable silence. Belle looked up at him, hoping he wouldn't notice that she couldn't look directly into his eyes. Adam didn't notice, as he was too preoccupied pretending to be fascinated with his fork. In actuality, he was staring at his hands.

"So Belle," Adam began, "it seems like you might need to be here a while."

Belle remembered their discussion from the previous night and their deal for her to stay until he deemed the road through the woods safe to travel. She briefly glanced at the enormous window across from where she sat. It was true, the amount of snow and ice outside would prevent her from leaving the castle for some time. Whether Belle liked it or not, she was trapped in with the Beast once more.

"I thought it would be wise to get to know each other, our likes, dislikes, and things like that. What do you like to do?" Adam hoped he could keep the conversation short, he didn't know how he would answer any questions she asked about him truthfully.

She wasn't afraid to answer truthfully, she knew this prince would be much more accepting than the townspeople.

"I love reading," Belle replied, smiling softly at him. Adam returned her smile, his grin much wider than hers. "I read whenever I can," she added. "I went to the library everyday in the village; I couldn't put a book down."

Adam could imagine her sitting in a cottage by a warm fire, her nose in the latest book she borrowed. This imagery his mind produced led to an idea Lumiere would be proud of.

"Really?" Adam answered, his grin spreading with his idea in mind, "I think I have just the thing." He rose from his seat, dishes forgotten as he took her hand and without a word led her out of the room.

* * *

><p>They arrived at a large set of double doors when Adam dropped her hand. He immediately felt a sense of loss at the absence of her touch.<p>

"There's something I want to show you," Adam said, his grin so wide his cheeks hurt. He turned to open one of the double doors, its darkness inside interrupted by a streak of light that entered the room upon its opening. He shut the door back just as quickly, turning back to Belle. Now that he thought about it, she needed to do something first. "But first, you have to close your eyes."

Belle raised her eyebrows in suspicion.

"It's a surprise," he clarified. She narrowed her eyes, unsure of what the prince could be thinking. However, she consented and slowly closed her eyes, raising her chin slightly to acknowledge that she was ready.

Adam waved his hand frantically in front of her face to make sure she wasn't cheating. It was childish, he knew, but he really wanted her to be surprised. Seeing that her eyes were closed tight, he opened the door completely. He took both of her petite hands in his to lead her into the dark room.

Belle somewhat reluctantly followed his lead.

"Now can I open them?" She questioned him, as they walked forward into what Belle guessed was a pitch black room; even if she opened her eyes, she still wouldn't be able to see anything.

"Not yet!" He said, voice sharper than he intended because of his excitement. Then as they stopped in the direct center of the room, Adam dropped Belle's hands.

"Wait here," he whispered. He all but ran to the curtains and flung them open with enthusiasm. Adam was sure that if he had still been the Beast, he would've torn the curtains off in his elation.

With each curtain opening, Belle felt bright light from the snowy morning flash across her face. She smiled and turned her head to the source.

"Now can I open them?" She inquired, unable to keep herself from becoming impatient despite her attempts.

"Alright…" Adam turned from his window he had just unveiled to get a good look of Belle's face. He wanted to see her reaction more than anything else in the world, his opinion of everything else was secondary to him behind her. "Now!"

Belle snapped her eyes open and took in her surroundings. It took a minute for her eyes to register what they saw, but when they did it was a sight to behold.

_Books. Gabs of books. Mountains of books. Forests of books. Cascades, swamps of books. More books than could ever be read in a lifetime. Books on every subject ever studied..._

"I can't believe it! I've never seen so many books in my entire life!" Belle slowly turned in a circle around herself, looking at something far better than any paradise she'd ever imagined.

"Y-You like it?" Adam gushed as much as Belle did, happy that he could please her. Maybe with this as an incentive, Belle would never want to leave his castle.

"It's wonderful!"

"Then it's yours," Just like his heart.

Belle stopped short, her eyes bulging. "Oh," she whispered.

Before Adam knew it, Belle crashed into him. Hugging him tightly, she thanked him profusely. This time it took Adam a minute to register what Belle had done. When he did, he slowly raised him arms and gently hugged her back reveling in her touch once more.

This was more than wonderful.

* * *

><p>Belle spent the following days buried in her new books; she hardly left the library for any reason.<p>

In order to spend time with her, Adam had taken to reading lessons with her in the library. Shortly after he had given her the library, he had inadvertently let it slip that he couldn't read; Prince Adam knew he did once, but ten years as a Beast had changed many things. Reading was one of the many abilities he had not retained as the Beast. He did not regret it however, he was anxious to find as many ways to spend time with Belle as he could.

After a few days, Belle had all but forgotten the letter.

A week passed. Things around the castle became an easy routine.

Many mornings Belle woke before Adam, when this happened she naturally went straight to the library. Adam liked to enjoy breakfast together, as they had established on the first day, so Belle read to pass the time until he awoke.

This morning she woke earlier than usual. Unable to go back to sleep, she headed for the library. Picking up a fairytale book, she read for about an hour before dozing off on the daybed. Sometime later, she was awakened by a commotion in the hallway. Wiping sleep out of her eyes, she stretched and stood to make her way to the door.

Upon opening it, she came across a peculiar scene.

A tall, gangly man was in a heated brawl with a stout and short fellow.

"YOU MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT YOU CALUMNIOUS, CLOUTED, CANDELABRA!"

"I MOST CERTAINLY DID, YOU OVERGROWN POCKET-WATCH!"

"CRAVEN, DOGHEARTED, HUGGER-MUGGER!"

"BURLY-BONED, POX-MARKED, STRUMPET!"

Belle gasped, she would recognize those voices, that banter, anywhere.

"Lumiere? Cogsworth?"

Both men immediately stopped mid-punch and faced Belle with eyes wide as saucers.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hopefully this massive chapter makes up for the delay. I can't begin to tell you all how sorry I am about that. Unfortunately there's nothing I can do about it and I can't make any promises it won't happen again. After many surgeries and such I have been pretty much given up on by my doctor and will be heading to Duke University for specialty testing on my heart. I don't know how much time this will take, but hopefully I will be able to get the next chapter written and up soon. **

**In lighter news, if any of you remember last year I was cast as Flora in Sleeping Beauty. Because of my performance I was offered the lead role in Cathy Rigby's version of Peter Pan. I will be rehearsing literally everyday until its performance on June 17. After that I will be studying ballet in Vagas on scholarship for a month. I hope you all can understand :) I promise I won't give my ****stories up, in fact Blue Eyes is my priority! For those of you reading my other stories, they will be updated and finished (with many rewrites) after this one is done. ****  
><strong>

**I can't begin to thank you all for your continued support. I'm sorry if I haven't gotten back to your review, I'm really trying to get better about that. Getting about 50 reviews for my birthday was beyond amazing! I love you all! I hope I can get something close to that with this chapter!**

**I'll try to get the next chapter out by the end of the month.**

**Until next time,**

**Elizabeth**


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